System Overload
by StarksViolet
Summary: The Avengers are a powerful team; however unknown forces, secret forces threaten to tear them apart...Sequel to The Avenged
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome back everyone! Here we go: The sequel to The Avenged!**

Tony landed beside the unconscious body, he felt the ferocious wind nearly throw him off balance, he looked around trying to find a suitable shelter; he spotted an old makeshift cave, he picked the body up and moved it.

'Romanov, can you hear me?' Tony grunted against the throbbing pain in his head.

No reply.

'Romanov, open your eyes.' He instructed.

Nothing.

Tony looked around; the HUD showed an isolated wasteland as far as the eye could see. He closed his eyes and willed the suit away, within seconds the armour was falling away from his body, he was finally able to kneel down beside Natasha and inspect the extent of her injuries. Her eyes opened finally, and he stroked her hair away from her eyes, he made sure she was out of the wind and turned back to the wilderness. He ran his hand through his hair; Natasha's laboured breathing was the only sound around them, save for the howling wind.

The shelter of the cave was a huge help, but it still didn't stop the brute force of nature with which they were faced.

'Jarvis, can you get a fix on our location?' He spoke against the fierce wind.

'Negative sir, the positioning systems are down.' Jarvis replied.

Tony pressed his fingers to Natasha's neck, her eyes struggled to stay open, 'we need to get out of here, Jarvis are we able to connect to S.H.I.E.L.D?'

'Negative sir, coms to the helicarrier are down, I can try to contact them on an older unused channel.'

Tony nodded, 'got it, I need you to keep trying, before we went down I launched a beacon, hone in on that and do what you can to contact Rogers or Bruce, they'll be monitoring the coms.'

'Very well sir.' Jarvis replied and plunged Tony back into the silent darkness of the windy valley.

He leaned in toward Natasha and moved her body so that she was lying flat on her back; she stirred slightly, enough to catch Tony's attention. He removed the thin windcheater he was wearing and rolled it up to form a pillow, he elevated her head, 'you need to stay awake Romanov.' He said quietly.

She shook her head against the makeshift pillow, 'you'll freeze to death.' She stammered.

Tony smiled, 'you just focus on staying alive, I'll be fine.' He pressed his finger to her wrist and looked at the watch on his other hand.

They stayed silent for a minute.

Natasha broke the silence, 'how bad is it?'

Tony looked down at her face. 'It's not bad, your injuries will heal in no time, I'm worried about the cold.'

Natasha shook her head; she raised her self on her elbows and leaned her back against the cave wall. 'That's not what I'm talking about.' She looked at him without breaking eye contact.

Tony sat down and leaned against the opposite wall, he looked down at his feet.

'How bad is it?' She repeated.

Tony cleared his throat, 'it's nothing I can't solve.' He offered.

She nodded.

Tony leaned his head against the wall, 'Jarvis, any luck?'

'No sir, still trying the old channels.'

Tony closed his eyes and rubbed his temple, 'keep me posted.'

'Where are we?' Natasha asked quietly.

'No idea, somewhere over the Andes I presume.' Tony continued rubbing his head.

'You ok?' Natasha's voice seemed miles away.

Tony sighed, 'yeah, headache.' He looked up at the ceiling of the cave pinching the bridge of his nose to alleviate the pounding headache, 'Jarvis, how's the extremis holding up?'

'The reactor is holding at 78% and the extremis is still progressing as last discussed.' Jarvis replied.

'Ok, options?' Tony asked ignoring the concerned look Natasha was throwing his way.

'The only option without your medication is to stop it progressing further.' Jarvis explained.

'Ok, stop the progress how?' Tony asked impatiently.

'You must not allow your mind to drift off, keep in the cold to keep your body awake and using its own defences.' Jarvis offered.

'Ok, thanks.' Tony stood up briskly. 'We _both_ need to stay awake Romanov.'

'What's wrong?' She asked trying to stand up.

Tony walked over and knelt beside her, he pushed her down gently, 'you took a hard hit, you need to stay still for a while, at least until you regain your bearings.'

Tony felt the cold creep through his veins, he felt himself shiver involuntarily.

'You should have stayed in your suit; you're going to freeze to death.' Natasha instinctively moved closer to him.

'I had no idea you felt that way Romanov.' Tony smirked at her.

Natasha rolled her eyes, 'we need to keep warm.' She said simply.

'Don't worry, I won't tell Barton.' He gave her a cheeky grin.

She nudged him in the ribs.

Tony wrapped the windcheater around her and sat beside her.

'You'll be ok.' He said quietly looking out into the night sky.

* * *

'What the hell happened?' Fury stormed into the communications deck of the helicarrier, the darkening stormy sky reflected his mood.

'I don't know, sir, the jet just went off radar, I think it's been shot down.' The S.H.I.E.L.D operative replied trying to locate the jets transponder. 'Everything's been fried on board, the beacon is lost.'

'Sir, Romanov and Stark are offline, what happened?' Steve's voice came in over the coms.

'Stand by, still working on it.' Fury replied. He stood beside the agent and looked at the screen as he brought up the last moments the jet was in the sky. A blinding flash erupted across the radar and engulfed the small dot which was the jet, when the flash dissipated, the jet was gone.

'They've been taken down, Captain, last known location, somewhere over the Andes, sending coordinates now.' Fury said firmly.

'On our way.' Steve replied.

'What's this?' Fury pointed to a small flashing button just above the console.

The agent looked intently at the button, 'it's just an old communications channel, it's not in use anymore.' He replied.

Fury looked down at the man, 'generally speaking, when something is flashing, it means it's getting used.' He turned to walk away, 'find out what it is, we don't need any more surprises.'

The agent nodded.

'What was the last known location?' Bruce pulled out a laptop and began bringing up satellite feeds.

'Fury's sending them through now, stand by.' Steve took a seat beside Thor.

'What is the plan?' Thor asked looking back and forth between Bruce and Steve.

Bruce looked to Steve.

'We need to get on the ground, start searching.' Steve offered.

Bruce shook his head, 'there's no use, there's too much ground to cover, we need to try to track their location first,' he started typing in the coordinates Fury sent them, he looked over the screens before him, 'if I can just recalculate the possible trajectories of the fall I may be able to triangulate a possible location.'

Steve leaned back in his chair. 'What are the odds that we'll find them down there doctor?'

'I don't think there's a way to tell, I'm not-' Bruce rambled on.

Thor cut him off, 'Doctor?'

Bruce sighed, 'not good.'

Steve nodded, 'then we better hurry.'

Bruce continued searching.

* * *

'Why didn't you tell anyone you were dying?' Natasha broke the silence.

Tony didn't turn to look at her, he continued looking out at the sky, lightning cracked through the night sky, Tony admired the ferocity of nature.

'Because no one needed to know.' He said simply.

'You were afraid.' Natasha said quietly.

Tony glanced at her; he smiled weakly, 'I think the cold is getting to your head.'

'Why do you avoid talking about yourself?' Natasha asked.

'Same reason you do.' He smiled. 'Am I right?'

She laughed at this, 'well played, Stark.'

'Jarvis, any updates?' Tony asked quietly.

'No progress yet, sir.' Jarvis replied.

Tony nodded silently. He leaned back against the wall.

'How do you do that?' Natasha asked

Tony tapped the side of his head, 'The extremis, it's a nanotech, bonded with the Nano virus which I was infected with; I'm connected to Jarvis and anything he's connected to.'

Natasha looked intently at him, 'you wrote all that into the virus?'

He nodded, 'it was the only way to repair the damage'

'And what damage have you received in return?'

Tony looked up at her, he smiled weakly, 'you're good.'

'Have you got a plan?'

'Yes, a serum that keeps the symptoms at bay.' He answered.

'What happens without your serum?' Natasha asked seriously.

Tony ran his fingers through his hair, 'well, I haven't ever needed to find out.'

'What symptoms have you been experiencing, aside from the headaches and blood nose?' She asked firmly.

Tony looked up at her again, he laughed, 'you really do know everything don't you?'

She smiled proudly, 'when I need to.'

Tony nodded, 'makes things easier for me.'

'Not having to talk about yourself?'

'Exactly.' He laughed.

'How do you feel?' She asked.

'Like someone is drilling through my skull.' He pressed two fingers to his forehead, 'and I'm getting really tired.' He felt himself growing weak, his eyelids were heavy, staying awake became an almost impossible feat. He felt his head lull to the side; he tried to focus on Natasha.

'You can't sleep, Tony.' She said moving to kneel in front of him.

'_You_ need to be resting.' Tony said quietly trying to push her back to sit down.

'I'm alright, Tony, just focus on staying awake, eyes on me.' She tilted his face to look at her.

'You might have a concussion, need…to stay…awake.' Tony managed weakly.

She slapped his cheeks, 'come on Tony, eyes on me, focus.'

He felt his body slowly going limp; he fought against every desire to fall asleep.

Jarvis snapped Tony back to reality, 'I've broken through to S.H.I.E.L.D Sir, they've located you, they're on the way.'

'They've found us.' Tony said finally, he closed his eyes.

**Hope everyone enjoyed the intro here; getting back into the swing of things is always a bit difficult, however he we are, and hopefully I still have some followers and fellow Pepperony fans!**

**Let me know how you thought this went :D **

**Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Oh my goodness everybody! Oh it's good to be back! Hope you're all ready for some awesome bad ass Tony, as usual with all my pieces, Tony suffering, and most importantly, some lovely Pepperony with just the right amount of cheese! (suitable for those lactose intollerant folk out there like myself)_**

**_An apology is in order for the ridonculous delay in the updates for this story, I'm done with what was making me struggle, so here we are, hope I've got some lovely company on this journey and I hope you're all on board. _**

**_Thank you for the wonderful people who reviewed and encouraged me to continue, without you I honestly would have given up. So thank you!_**

* * *

_Howling winds and dark barren wastelands surrounded Tony as he walked through the canyon; he saw no light, no stars no moon. The only sign he had of still being grounded on earth was the familiar hoot of the wise old owl. He walked and walked, for hours, days, weeks. He didn't know. His feet ached, his back screamed in agony, a pulsating fiery pain shot through his head. He remembered voices and people surrounding him, a crushing weight on his chest, then nothing. The reactor still shone brightly, he didn't think anything was damaged there. He remembered a distant conversation with a friend, Romanov. Her voice comforted him as he lay in the cold, freezing, begging for a comfort which he feared would never come. He remembered Jarvis going offline and Romanov quizzing him about his ability to communicate with him without the suit. Extremis. Yes, he remembered everything now._

A sudden jolt to his chest shocked him back to the present.

'Tony, stay with us buddy.'

He heard a disembodied male voice calling out to him, he didn't recognise it.

'Tony, can you hear me, this is Dr Sorin, you're at the S.H.I.E.L.D medical facility.'

There it was again, he tried searching for it, he couldn't move or see.

He heard a female voice in the distance; she was screaming out his name, he couldn't make out who it was.

'Ok, we've got him back.' Another male voice said.

He felt sharp icy air enter his lungs, the bright light above him was blinding.

'He's breathing,' the voice said above him, he could feel his fingers on his wrist, 'strong pulse one-twenty over eighty.'

Dr Sorin spoke calmly.

'Tony!' The female voice yelled again, this time she was closer.

Pepper, he could recognise her voice now, he just wanted to hold her, 'please tell me he's ok, ' her words were laced with agony.

He could hear the tears in her voice.

'He's ok, he's back.' He heard the doctor say before he closed his eyes and drifted away again.

_The blinding light faded away, Tony sighed at the relief. The darkness was soothing once more. He was back in the valley looking out over the horizon, he was never one for spiritual experiences; he didn't even believe in them. But what was this if not an experience? Tony found himself wandering through the dark with no clear purpose. And for once he felt at peace. A small trickle of light pierced through the barren wasteland, he followed the trickle until it became a river, a wild rushing river. The howling wind returned once more and he felt himself reluctantly getting pulled away from the river of light. No!_

'Tony?' Pepper spoke in barely a whisper.

All his senses rushed back, he could feel her hand on his face, and the bright light assaulted his eyes once more.

'Is he awake?' Another female voice asked, Romanov.

'I don't know, he's not opening his eyes.' Pepper whispered.

He felt another touch on his face, and then nothing.

_The river beckoned; he welcomed the light which shone on him. He savoured every moment of peace which he knew was not his to keep, despite the urge he had to give in, he knew he couldn't. Not in this life time. He turned away hesitantly and followed her voice._

'Tony?' Pepper squeezed his hand.

Voices, faces and familiarity returned and the light was gone.

'Hey, you're awake.' She whispered.

Tony moved his free hand over his face and rubbed his eyes.

'Wow.' He muttered.

A small laugh escaped Pepper's lips, 'wow?' she asked.

'I feel like I ran a marathon, drunk, and then ran another one and drank some more…after a huge party.' Tony explained, weakly smiling up at Pepper.

She shook her head, 'oh Tony, coming back from the brink of death and still making jokes, you're definitely one of a kind.'

Tony supressed a laugh, 'yeah, that's me in a nutshell.'

'How do you feel?' She asked taking seat on the bed beside him.

He moved over slightly to give her more room, 'I feel alright, could be better.'

'Romanov said the crash was pretty bad, do you remember?' Pepper gingerly traced a cut which ran across his cheek.

He shook his head, 'I don't really remember much, just the cold.' He shuddered at the memory.

'It's ok, Dr Sorin said it will come back in time, you didn't sustain any permanent damage, Natasha did a good job keeping you alive.' Pepper leaned in and kissed his forehead.

'How is she, I remember, she was hurt, is she ok?' Minute, sketchy details presented themselves in Tony's head as a broken recording.

Pepper nodded, 'she was lucky to have you, the doctors said you kept her warm and made her follow all the right procedures for a concussion.'

'Sure doesn't sound like me.' Tony smirked.

'You're lovely when you want to be, and that's our little secret.' She grinned back.

Tony reached up and pulled her face to his, 'I didn't mean to worry you.' He whispered against her lips.

Pepper pulled back and looked at him intently.

'I heard you crying, and I'm sorry, I, I hate that I do that to do.' He whispered.

She shook her head, 'don't be sorry about that, I cry because I care, you should be worried if I'm not crying about you Mr Stark.'

Tony smiled and finally nodded, accepting her words; he let his head sink deeper into the pillow as he felt his eyes slowly closing.

Pepper gently laid his arms beside him and cupped his cheek, 'you need some rest.' She said quietly.

He shook his head as best as he could, but it was no use, his body overrode his mind and he felt himself drift off.

* * *

**_Looking forward to hearing what you thought about that!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Thanks for your lovely reviews my friends, this one is another short one...and as I was asked about what happened to Tony in the cave, rest assured, I won't leave you hanging for much longer, the answers are coming for all the qns you may have...and if you've any burning questions, please feel free to ask :)_**

* * *

_Three days later…_

'S.H.I.E.L.D intercepted some data before you went down,' Fury stood before the Avengers with a steely look in his eyes, 'whatever it was, it was big enough to take you down without interference, and stealth enough to avoid detection.'

The meeting room felt small and the vibe in the air was dense, Tony could feel the unease envelope the team. As he gazed from one Avenger to the other he could see the concern upon their features.

Fury continued, 'this was a targeted assault, take out two of my team, and distract the rest, all eyes fell on Tony and Natasha, Fury looked at them sincerely, 'while we were searching for you, this came up on our feed moments later.' Screens behind him flashed up with satellite images of several desolate areas around the globe.

No one spoke up, even Tony found no sarcastic quip to offer up, and instead they silently listened as Fury explained the rest.

He stood with his arms crossed behind his back, 'some may say this is a coincidence, I for one, don't believe in coincidence, this was a targeted attack, and we need to know why.'

Natasha cleared her throat, 'when Tony and I were attacked they used some kind of a pulse which destroyed our communication.'

Tony nodded, 'I upgraded most of that tech on board, there's no way those coms would have been taken out in the crash, it's why I had to use the older com links, I'm surprised you actually picked the transmission up from that dinosaur.'

'I know,' Fury nodded in agreement and handed out files to each Avenger, 'you were lucky I noticed it,' Fury explained, 'we'll meet back at seventeen hundred hours, get some rest.'

The door shut behind him and the room fell into silence once more.

Clint was the first to speak up this time, 'what else did you see before the jet went down?' he looked to Tony and Natasha.

'Nothing, it was a routine flight.' Tony shrugged, the vague memories of the flight and crash were still broken in his mind, but the terror was there, he remembered feeling helpless, and terrified.

'I stayed with the jet as long as I could to guide it, Tony suited up, there was nothing, no signs, we were hit and then we went down.' Natasha explained coolly.

Steve stood up and made his way to the window, he looked out over the people working, agents probably oblivious to what was going on in this room, he sighed and turned to the team, 'what else do we know about the attack?'

No one answered him; instead they looked through the files, each of them trying to work out what had happened, or what the motivation was. There was a bigger picture, something they were missing.

Bruce opened the laptop he always carried with him, he typed away furiously for a few minutes before looking up, 'Tony, can you come here and look at this please?'

Tony obliged and made his way over to him, 'what is it Doc?'

'What does that look like to you?' He turned to laptop to face Tony.

His gaze dropped to the ground, after a few moments he looked back at Bruce, 'I thought we took care of this?'

Now the pair had attracted the attention of the other three Avengers in the room, 'what's going on Tony?' Steve asked him firmly.

Tony shook his head, 'a misunderstanding.' He looked at the screen and then back at Bruce, 'it can't be; we _took _care of this.'

Bruce nodded sheepishly, 'I know that, but who else has this weapon?' He looked at Tony intently.

'I don't know.' Tony admitted defiantly, he swiftly took the file from the desk and left the room, the door swung shut behind him leaving the Avengers in stunned silence.

Bruce brought his hands together and leaned on the desk, avoiding all eye contact with the Avengers before him.

'Doctor?' Steve spoke up breaking the silence, 'what weapon was he talking about?'

Bruce looked up slowly, 'I've got something I need to do, we'll go over this before the meeting.' He collected his things and escaped any further questioning.

Steve and Natasha stood in the room looking bewildered, Clint on the other hand supressed a laugh, 'well at least it's never a dull day aboard the helicarrier.' He got up and left the room.

'Am I missing something?' Steve asked Natasha quietly.

'Well, that's a good question, Cap.' She mused.

'Is it someone Stark thought we had taken care of?' Steve offered.

'That's a given but _who _on the other hand, is the question.'

Steve nodded, 'he looks worried, they both do.'

'Stark's got a laundry list of enemies, most of us here do, so that doesn't surprise me,' she clapped him on the shoulder, 'don't let it worry you too much, we'll work it out.' She said before taking her leave.

Steve stood in the room, looking up at the screen with the images Fury had provided, much had changed in the world but he still tried to make the best of what he could and he felt somewhat confident in having the Avengers as part of his team.

* * *

Tony slammed the door to his room; he leaned heavily against the wall beside it. A quiet knock startled him, 'Tony, can I come in?' Bruce spoke quietly.

Tony stepped away from the door and let Bruce in; he made his way to a work desk and began tinkering with a gauntlet from the latest Iron Man suit.

'We need to go over the footage, the others don't know about this and we have to fill them in.' Bruce took a seat beside Tony's work desk and looked at him intently.

Tony stopped what he was doing and leaned against the desk, he sighed and looked sideways at Bruce, 'how did this happen?'

Bruce shook his head, 'that's what we're here to find out right?'

'I guess so.' Tony ran his hands through his hair, 'show me the file.'

Bruce pushed the laptop over to him as he pulled a stool beside the desk and sat down.

'From what I can see, it's the same weapon, used in the same way, but we saw the body, so I'm inclined to think, copycat?' Bruce contemplated.

'No,' Tony shook his head, 'I don't think so,' he pulled the laptop closer and enhanced the images on the screen, a pained expression hit him as the realisation dawned, 'that's him.'

Bruce turned the screen back to himself, 'how?'

'I have no idea, but this is bad.' Tony lamented.

* * *

_**As always...looking forward to hearing from you, anything I'm doing wrong? Or not enough of? I love hearing ideas and pointers, afterall that's how we become better at what we do, right? Well most of us anyway!**_

_**But IM3 41 days! SO DAMN EXCITED! **_

_**( going to a friends dress up party tonight, going as black widow, hmm...does that go against my Pepperony ideals...? )**_


	4. Chapter 4

**So here we go ladies and gentlemen, we find out who our evil foe is! I felt I didn't do those characters enough villainous justice in The Avenged, so here we are, have a little more fun with him and her! Also, some more Tony butt kicking! Sit back and enjoy the ride…**

* * *

Fury looked on as Bruce and Tony explained what happened, so much had taken place in the months since Tony had taken on Mallen that he had almost forgotten how close he came to losing his team.

He noted that Romanov and Clint still carried ill feelings toward him for turning his back on Tony when he needed them most. The team, of course, went against him and saved his life, much to Fury's relief.

Tony had suffered extensive injuries which forced him to take the Extremis virus and cure himself, this in itself brought on a whole new category of problems. The virus remained unfinished in the creator's hands, and only Tony had the amended version which succeeded in healing him, so keeping it, and Tony out of the hands of the enemy became their new challenge. Second to that was Tony's failing health; Romanov had informed him of the change in Tony, and assigned herself as his informal guard. After that, Fury allowed himself to trust the judgement of the Avengers a whole lot more.

'A radio transmission was picked up about seven miles from the location where you went down, I haven't been able to crack it yet, but with your help we should be able to work it out.' Bruce looked to Tony, the remainder of the team nodded in agreement.

'This is who is responsible for this wonderful mess we have on our hands.' Fury clicked a remote in his hands and the screens around them came to life with several photographs of a man over several decades of his life.

Natasha's eyes darted to Tony straight away, 'how is this possible?'

Tony shrugged and looked down at his feet, 'well, maybe the bullets you guys are using need to be looked at, you know, I'm somewhat of a weapons expert?' he muttered sarcastically.

Fury looked at him intently, 'I can understand that you're upset.'

'Upset?' Tony choked back a laugh, 'no, I'm not _upset_.' He looked at him silently, all eyes on the billionaire, 'I'm _curious_ as to how someone, who was shot _dead, _and pronounced _dead, _is here, trying to kill us, again.'

Bruce shifted nervously, 'maybe he had some version of the Extremis injected too?'

Tony didn't take his eyes off Fury, 'whatever it is, he's alive and probably a little peeved that Romanov shot him, and that I'm still alive.'

Fury leaned heavily against the desk in front of him, he didn't have anything to offer despite the steely gaze from the team.

Tony stifled a sarcastic laugh and got to his feet, 'maybe this time you should let me do it my way, I _know_ how it works and if you had let me take care of it in the first place we wouldn't even be in this mess, _I_ wouldn't be in this mess.' He ran his hand through his hair.

All eyes fell on him, he sighed at the weakening state of mind he was faced with, 'let me do it my way,' he looked to Fury who met him with a small nod.

Tony took this as his opportunity to leave, without looking back to the team he made his way to the base of the helicarrier and found his comfort, his suits.

'_J, suit me up, make sure Pepper's home, got it?'_ He still found it new, and sometimes frightening that his thoughts were all he needed to get anything he wanted done.

'_She's on her way home Sir.'_ Jarvis' voice echoed in Tony's head.

He took off to the sky and flew as fast as his body could take, and as fast as Jarvis allowed.

The feel on his skin of the Extremis under sheath was immaculate, he finally felt at one with the suit, the one thing, other than Pepper that felt right.

The flight from the helicarrier to home was longer than he would have liked, his already exhausted body barely carried him through the night. He knew he wouldn't tell them, any of them about this.

Fury's betrayal would forever stay in the back of his mind, tucked deep in the dark corners of Tony Stark's mind where it would be safe. Brought up should it ever be needed should he ever try to pull that on him again.

He wasn't one to hold grudges, he was a businessman, he knew how to turn these things in his favour and work it to his advantage. Pepper, however wasn't so diplomatic. She was angry and completely unforgiving for what Fury did, she blamed him, and the Avengers for nearly losing Tony.

As far as he was concerned, a little of him _did_ die that day and he was going to spend the rest of his life paying for it even if that wasn't going to be much longer.

He caught the sight of the tower in the distance and landed smoothly on the landing pad. As he walked toward the door, the suit disassembled itself from around his body, much like it used to, but much less mechanically now. Pepper stood at the door and watched as he walked toward her, concerned features greeted him.

She silently wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck, 'what's wrong?'

He smiled weakly, she always knew.

She pulled away to meet his eyes, 'Tony?'

He kissed the top of her head before leading her inside to the couch. He motioned for her to join him and she obliged without taking her eyes off him.

'I need to tell you something, I don't want to lie.' Tony began. He looked into her eyes, watching the change of emotion; concern and curiosity then fear. He squeezed her hand to reassure her as best as he could, 'Bessler is alive,' he looked down at her hands in his.

He felt her hands squeeze his, 'how?' she breathed.

Tony supressed a sarcastic laugh, 'well, that's the question of the night.'

'Was he responsible for the crash?' She stood up and turned her back to Tony, he didn't bother standing.

The more he had this conversation the more he wanted to laugh, it was completely absurd.

'We think so, unless there are a few more crazed people who want this technology,' he tapped the arc in his chest, 'or the technology in my head.'

Pepper turned abruptly to face him, 'Tony, of course there are, there are always people who want you dead!'

Tony looked up at her with bemusement, 'isn't that the truth.'

Pepper dropped down on the couch beside him and took his hand, 'I'm sorry,' she whispered.

He shook his head without looking up at her, 'you've nothing to be sorry for, this is my mess.'

'No, it isn't, _they_ shouldn't have let you down the way they did.' Pepper moved closer to him, finally dragging his attention to her, 'was it the EMP virus again?'

Tony nodded and pulled her closer.

'Are you ok?' She finally managed.

'Yeah, it didn't hit me directly this time.' He explained.

Pepper nodded silently and then finally spoke up, 'what are you going to do?'

He heard the concern in her voice and didn't have the heart to look at her, 'I honestly don't know.'

'Do you think Maya sold him the Extremis?' Pepper asked quietly.

'Maybe, who knows what else she did with it.' Tony sighed.

'Maybe we _can _find out, she's in prison, why don't we go and ask her?' Pepper sat up straighter and looked at Tony intently.

The fire in her eyes gave Tony hope, 'can you organise it?'

Pepper grinned, 'can I organise it, of course I can, do you know who you're speaking to?' she asked with mock sadness.

Tony kissed her forehead and pulled back to smile at her, 'of course I do, what would I ever do without you?'

Pepper took his hands in hers, 'probably lose all your money and wake up in a cheap motel room with a stripper?'

Tony grinned and shook his head, 'oh Miss Potts, you're the only person who's always had the courage to say what's on her mind around me.'

'You mean the only person who wasn't a babbling mess around you?' She corrected.

'And you're still not.' He smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

'Only, that isn't true.' She whispered.

Tony pulled back to look at her but before he could speak she put her finger to his lips, 'when I'm around you I can barely think straight, and when I finally compose myself it all comes undone when you smile at me, and when you touch me I think that I might stop breathing, it's not that I'm _not _a babbling mess around you Tony Stark, it's just that I'm so overwhelmed that I can't even express myself, so all I have left is that façade you've come to know so well, it's the only thing that holds everything in place.'

Tony sat in stunned silence looking at the woman who sat before him, he had known her for more than ten years and could never get over how different and strong she was to the other women who came through his life. This side of her was one he never knew existed; he never fooled himself into thinking that she would ever feel that way about him. But hearing those words coming out of her mouth had him completely stunned, he realised in that moment he loved her even more, if that were even possible.

Pepper smiled at the effect she had on him and opted for a new change of affection, she wrapped her arms around him, 'I've always been crazy about you, 'she whispered against his neck.

Tony only pulled her tighter and buried his face in her neck, 'I love you so much.'

After hearing everything Pepper had to offer, the sickening realisation finally dawned on him that he may not have the means to stop Bessler, after all, it wasn't he who shot him, it was Romanov, and she was just as shocked as he was to find out Bessler is alive.

He sighed loudly and allowed Pepper to whisper to him, to try and make him feel better about the upcoming challenge he was facing. He sat silently listening to Pepper tell him how great he is, and how he will beat him again.

He listened to her feed him with the fuel she knew he needed. But the truth was so far from that it made him want to laugh. He didn't think he was great and he didn't think he could do this. In fact, he shuddered to think, that had it not been for Natasha, he would have been dead with a bullet in his head and a long list of so called 'fans' mourning over the fallen hero.

No, he wasn't a hero, he was a spoilt kid who grew up and made neat things, that somehow got him a free ride into a team of Heroes. _Real_ heroes.

But Pepper didn't believe a word of it, she refused to let him belittle himself like that, she constantly reminded him of his worth and he was silently thankful for that, he was _her_ hero, and that's all that mattered, for now.

Tomorrow they would meet with Maya and they would work on getting answers, but for tonight no more mention of her name would be made. Tony gently pushed Pepper down on the couch and lowered himself on top of her; they breathed each other in and allowed themselves to forget what was coming, just for tonight.

* * *

**I like to implement a lot of inner monologues in my work, please let me know if this isn't working for you, I like complete honesty when it comes to writing. It helps me, not only with this, but with my own Novel, so any feedback you can give is greatly appreciated. Also, the next few chapters are going to be pretty miserable, it is an angsty piece after all muahuhauahau!**

**But there will also be a lot more Pepperony obviously!**


	5. Chapter 5

**For whoever is still reading, thank you, and hope you enjoy...(mild Iron Man 3 references)**

* * *

Tony sat on the edge of the bed looking out over the night sky, his Malibu home had the most spectacular views yet he couldn't remember the last time he just sat here at watched and absorbed.

Pepper laced her arms around his neck, 'you ok?' she whispered sleepily not wanting to disturb the moment.

He smiled at her touch, 'couldn't sleep.'

'Do you want to talk about it?' She asked gently nudging him in the ribs.

He shook his head nuzzling his mouth against her arm and planting kisses along the inner part of her elbow, 'wouldn't bore you with it.'

Pepper pulled her arm free with a giggle and moved around to kneel before him, 'I'm not going to push you, but don't think it's a burden to me, I'm here, whatever you need Tony.'

He nodded, 'I know baby, thank you,' he leaned his forehead against hers.

Pepper smiled and took his hands into hers, 'come back to bed, it's only three.'

'Good idea,' he said pulling her to her feet and leading her back to the bed.

They lay together in silence as Pepper's breathing evened out and Tony closed his eyes willing sleep to come.

Hour after hour passed slowly yet sleep continued to evade him, eventually he could take no more so he pulled his arm free from Pepper and slipped out of bed; he padded down the hall silently making his way to the workshop.

'You up Jarvis?'

'For you sir, always.' Jarvis replied.

Tony grinned, 'ok, let's start up a new project, Mark forty two.'

'Of course sir, might I suggest a larger armoury?' Jarvis added.

Tony smiled, 'yes, we'll get right on that, bring up the files, we've got a lot of work to do on this one, I have a new idea,' he spoke in his usual staccato manner as he pulled on his wrist bands and sat down.

'What are you planning on using this one for, deep space expeditions?' Jarvis added sarcastically.

'Remind me to rewrite the way in which you speak with me.' Tony smirked.

'Of course sir, I will add it to the growing list of modifications you are yet to make.' Jarvis deadpanned.

Tony sighed, 'ah yes, _that_ ever growing list, do me a favour Jarvis, bring up the plans for the Mark seven.'

The holographic images came to life before him and he brought up several more screens beside him showing all the design processes of all the suits he'd made.

'What is this suit for, sir?' Jarvis asked interrupting his creator's thoughts.

Tony looked up slightly startled, 'well, it is meant to be a rescue armour of sorts, something which I can use to _put _on people if I'm not able to reach them in my own armour.'

'That sounds like a good idea, sir.' Jarvis added.

'Yeah, you never know when it could come in handy.' Tony explained rummaging around through more files.

He worked for hours bantering back and forth with Jarvis before he realised that his body was screaming for food, and sleep and all the other things he forgot to do on a regular basis.

He leaned forward and rubbed his eyes, 'what's the time?'

'It is currently seven nineteen, sir.' Jarvis replied.

'That late, is Pepper still asleep?' He asked suspiciously, she never slept this late, especially not when he knew there were meetings and a whole bunch of other things she would be working on.

'No sir, she is in the kitchen.' Jarvis added.

'Ok, file these away for me, we'll work on it later.' Tony closed the files he was working on and made his way upstairs.

Tony made his way through the silent house and made his way to the kitchen, 'Pepper?'

'I'm out here.' She called.

He made his way to the balcony spotting her standing by the railing.

'Hey, why didn't you come and get me?' He asked as he walked over to her gently wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer against him.

'I saw that you were working on something and I didn't want to bother you.' She turned to face him with a smile.

'You came downstairs?' Tony raised his eyebrows at her.

'I did, and when I saw you working I went back upstairs to make us breakfast.' She wrapped her arms around his neck and reached up to plant a kiss on his cheek.

'I'm sorry.' He sighed pulling back from her.

'Don't be, now come and eat before it gets cold.' She kissed his other cheek and took his hand into hers and led him to the kitchen.

'How long have you been up?' He asked taking a seat at the bench.

Pepper placed two sets of plates and cutlery, two glasses and a jug of orange juice on the bench, 'probably since six thirty,' she smiled placing a plate of waffles in front of him.

'How did I get so lucky?' He asked sheepishly before placing a few waffles on each plate and coating hers with sugar and syrup and the doing the same to his.

Pepper sat adjacent to him and smiled as she placed a few blueberries on her plate, 'well, a lot of persistence and money, oh and the cars and the mansions and being a super hero didn't hurt either.'

Tony laughed at the statement, out of everyone he'd ever met Pepper was the only one who wasn't floored by his riches or attracted by his cars. She was the only woman who was genuinely interested in _Tony stark, _not Tony Stark's name.

'And the brains, don't forget the brains.' He said tapping his head with a grin.

'How could I forget?' She asked with a cheeky smile.

They continued to eat in the comfort of each other's company; rarely did they have the chance to enjoy a quiet morning without one or the other getting called away for duty.

Pepper placed her fork down gently and looked at Tony intently. She noticed the concentrated expression which dominated his entire being.

'Tony?' She spoke softly.

His eyes remained glued on his plate and fork placed neatly beside it.

'Tony?" she repeated.

He finally blinked and looked up at her.

She furrowed her brows at him.

'Sorry, what?' He looked up sheepishly.

'Is everything ok?' she asked sternly.

Tony sighed, 'yeah, why wouldn't it be?'

'Because, Tony, you've been really….distant, and distracted.' She looked down at her plate and then back at him.

'I know,' he sighed rubbing his temple, 'I'm sorry.' He looked up at her.

'Natasha told me something, which I can't get off my mind…' she trailed off looking away from him and the steely gaze she knew he was giving her.

'And what did Romanov have to say?' He asked firmly.

Pepper looked back at him slightly hurt by the tone he was using.

'She said that there may be adverse effects from the Extremis and after everything that happened with Mallen, you've been detached…' she rambled on before Tony's hand on hers made her stop.

'Hey, hey calm down,' he pulled her around to face him, 'I will admit, that yes, I'm not one hundred per cent, I don't feel the best you know, I do feel lost, and I don't know, Pep, I feel like I'm losing myself.'

Pepper looked at him in stunned silence as his revelation made her heart ache.

'You know, we promised this whole no secrets thing, and I'm sorry I kept this from you I guess until you pointed it out I didn't really want to admit anything.' He shrugged.

Pepper sighed and pulled him against her, 'I won't let you lose yourself.'

He smiled weakly against her and kissed her forehead, 'this whole Bessler thing, I'm going to see what S.H.I.E.L.D is doing about it, I know Romanov is in,' he leaned his forehead against hers, 'I want you to go somewhere with Happy, pack a few things and take a trip.'

'What about you?' She asked quietly.

'I have to stay here and make this right.' He smiled.

Pepper knew this was the answer she feared and there was nothing which would change it.

'The meeting with Maya has been set for this afternoon,' Pepper added.

'Good, we'll see if we can get some answers.' Tony nodded.

* * *

They walked down the prison halls escorted by three guards provided by the prison as well as Tony's personal guards hired to protect Pepper.

'You've got ten minutes.' The guard spoke directly to Tony who replied with a nod.

He walked into the private meeting room with Pepper closely behind, he clenched his fists forcing himself to even out his breathing. His anger was not something he could afford to lose control of in the presence of this woman.

Maya Hansen remained seated, with her hands folded neatly in front of her and eyes firmly focussed on the table.

'I only have two questions for you.' Tony said firmly as Pepper gently squeezed his arm as he walked toward the table and sat down in front of Maya.

Maya remained unmoving.

Tony nodded, 'first question, were you working with Bessler?'

Maya cleared her throat and finally looked up at him, briefly glancing over at Pepper then back at the floor, 'yes, he bought the patents for the unfinished version.'

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, 'and second question, did you engineer the nano virus?'

Maya shot him a look, 'what are you talking about?'

Tony noted the genuine confusion on her face.

'Bessler used a nano virus connected through an EMP.' The memory alone was painful and the virus, despite what he told Pepper, was not gone. He could still feel it lingering in his body, weaving itself through his veins and invading and infecting his blood.

Momentary lapses were the least of his worries, he could feel the change deep within his core and it was terrifying.

Maya looked at him intently, 'you were infected, that's why you're here.'

Tony stood up, 'I'm here because your boss is alive somehow and he's back to finish the job.'

Maya's eyes widened, 'he must have used to virus on himself.'

'That much is clear, and now I have what I need.' Tony turned his back on her and took hold of Pepper's hand.

'You won't be able to beat him, the virus is unstable, it's worse than Mallen!' She yelled through the door as Tony disappeared behind it closing it and her out of his life.

Tony walked hurriedly through the halls pulling Pepper along with him, 'you need to get out of Malibu as soon as you can, it's not safe for you to stay.'

Pepper walked quickly beside him, 'ok, but it's not safe for you either, didn't you hear what she said?'

Tony signed them out and pushed through the doors into the fresh air taking a deep breath.

'You ok?' Pepper tugged at his hand.

He took several more deep breaths, 'yeah.'

Pepper stopped at the car and Happy greeted them, opening the door for Tony and Pepper, 'you ok boss?' He looked back to Pepper after being met with silence.

She only nodded, 'take us home Happy.'

As soon as the Rolls Royce pulled into the driveway Tony was out and rushing into the house.

'Tony, wait.' Pepper called after him.

'I just need a minute.' He called back before disappearing from her sight.

Pepper nodded and turned back to Happy, 'he's a little shaken about the information we got.'

'It didn't go well?' Happy asked closing the doors behind her and leading her to the house.

'It went well; I guess the betrayal is not something you get over, especially not after Obadiah.' She led Happy to the kitchen aware that Tony was already downstairs.

She poured herself a glass of water and a glass of juice for Happy.

'Is everything ok, I mean aside from that?' Happy asked taking a seat.

'Apparently Bessler has infected himself with the unfinished Extremis, and Maya said it's worse than what Mallen was infected with, Tony's worried.' She said quietly looking to Happy for answers, 'and he's got his own things to deal with.'

He furrowed his eyebrows thinking deeply, 'what did he say?'

'He said that we should leave and go on a trip somewhere until all this dies down.' Pepper replied with a weak smile.

'Then that's what we'll do, tomorrow after work, you and I are going to take the jet and fly somewhere.' He drank the last of his juice and put it in the sink, 'I've got a date tonight and I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.'

Pepper grinned at him, 'aha, well don't tell her straight away that you're Iron Man's body guard.'

Happy placed his hand across his chest, 'ouch Potts.'

She too finished her drink and put the glass into the sink, 'be good and have fun, I'll see you tomorrow.'

'You're becoming too much like him, I don't like it!' He pouted as she pushed him outside.

'Bye Happy.' She smiled closing the door behind him.

Pepper smiled to herself as she made her way downstairs as her next challenge awaited her.

'Tony?' She called out into the workshop stepping through the door, 'where are you?'

'Right here,' Tony called from across the workshop, his arm threaded through a gauntlet with a screwdriver in the other.

'I thought we could have dinner together?' She asked coming to a stop before his desk.

He looked up at her still tinkering with the gauntlet on his arm, 'sure, that would be really good, and you're leaving tomorrow aren't you?'

Pepper nodded still looking at him while he struggled for a few seconds with the screwdriver.

Finally he smiled and put the screwdriver down, 'watch this.' He grinned, he held out his free arm and closed his eyes in a moment of concentration; before Pepper could react the other gauntlet flew from across the room and connected itself to his arm.

She stepped back with a gasp, 'did you just make that today?'

He stepped back and held his arms out triumphantly, 'I did.'

'How does it work?' She looked at him curiously.

Tony closed his eyes again and the gauntlets unravelled slowly and flew over to Pepper, gently wrapping themselves around her.

She held out her arms in stunned silence and a smile spread across her lips.

'It works with the Extremis _and _the nano virus,' he shrugged, 'and it's going to be used for rescue operations.'

'Rescue?' Pepper asked quietly.

'Yeah, it's completely non-weaponized, it's just shields and magnetic fields, the only things weapons can't penetrate.' He explained.

Pepper looked at him in awe as the gauntlets came apart and landed quietly beside him.

'It's in case I'm not here and something happens, to protect you.' He looked down at his hands, 'it's coded to both of us.'

Pepper sighed and walked around the table and stood right in front of him forcing his eyes to meet hers.

'I'll be alright Tony, this, this is an obsession and it's exhausting you.' She cupped his cheek gently.

'It's… a defence mechanism.' He offered.

'A distraction.' She replied sadly.

'It's to protect you, things are different now, you _know _that.' He looked up at her weakly.

'I know,' she stepped closer running her fingers through his hair as he rested his head against her stomach, 'just promise you'll take time to look after yourself, I can't lose you.'

'I promise, and you won't, as long as I know you're safe I'll keep doing what I have to, to come home.' He said looking up at her.

She leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on his lips, 'dinner is at seven, don't be late,' she whispered before leaving him to his work.

* * *

Tony worked in silence for a few hours before he finally stood up with an annoyed groan.

'Jarvis, this is not working, why isn't it working?' He threw the screwdriver across the room and ran his hand through his hair.

'Sir, it seems that the nano virus has already bonded with your DNA, it is impossible to remove it now, therefore any changes you make are not going to work, your body will treat it as alien and try to flush it out.' Jarvis replied.

'Yeah, I get that,' he muttered, 'what I don't get is why I can't recode this,' he walked back over to the chair and sat down with a huff, 'I have no idea what to do.'

'Might I suggest leaving this for another time, it is nearly seven o'clock.'

Tony looked up with a sigh, 'already?'

'Yes sir.' Jarvis added.

'Ok, we continue this later.' Tony said taking his notes with him, 'keep me posted on any developments with Bessler, his lack of contact is worrisome.'

'Indeed sir, I will contact you as soon as anything comes through.' Jarvis added before plunging the workshop into darkness and locking it down.

Tony rushed upstairs and into their bedroom, he smiled noticing the suit and shirt already laid out on the bed for him complete with a hot-rod red, tie and his favourite sneakers.

He made his way to the bathroom showering much quicker than usual as his tardiness had no room in this relationship anymore. He would do everything in his power to make Pepper happy and proud, and that, as simple as it was, included being on time and helping in the running of the company, also shaving down the 'obsession'.

After he was happy with the way he looked he made his way downstairs and looked around for Pepper. He spotted her elegant form seated by the piano.

'You look fantastic.' He beamed from across the room startling her.

'Well, you don't look too bad yourself Mr Stark.' She replied getting to her feet and walking over to him, 'and you're on time.'

He nodded taking her hand in his and spinning her around smiling at the breath taking laugh which came from her.

'Shall we?' He asked leading her to the door.

'Happy has a date tonight.' She spoke breathlessly, equally as enchanted with him as he was with her.

'I know, I'm driving.' He smiled.

'Ok..' she nodded allowing herself to his charms.

He walked around to the passenger door and opened it for Pepper.

As she lowered herself into the car she looked up at the perfect Tony Stark smile which met her, he knew what he did to her and she knew he secretly loved it.

The door closed with a gentle thud and she allowed herself the few seconds to collect herself before he got in the car and joined her.

'I made reservations.' He grinned.

'Really?' She asked with genuine surprise.

'Really, I know you hate it when I'm lazy and all that.' He explained pulling out of the driveway, 'so you're both going tomorrow right?'

Peppers stomach lurched, she had allowed herself blissful ignorance and now it was shattered. The situation was real and tomorrow she would be leaving him and she knew it wasn't for long, just until this was sorted out, but even still she found herself swallowing the lump in her throat and sighing heavily.

'It's just for now, Pep, it'll be over in no time, I promise.' He said quietly.

She nodded and turned to him, 'I know, let's just enjoy tonight.'

'Sounds like a plan.' He smiled.

* * *

**So the next part to this story is a direct tie in to the last few chapters of The Avenged and several more references to Iron Man 3 as well as Extremis, the comic series, so if anyone has anything they'd like changed or added. Let me know.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the favourite adds, and the reviews :)**

* * *

After many hours of much needed relaxation Tony drove them home, never letting the smile slip off his face.

He glanced at Pepper every so often and caught her smiling shyly too.

'You really should leave tonight,' he said quietly as they pulled into the driveway.

Pepper looked at him with a hint of a frown, 'no, not tonight Tony.'

'It's not safe, Jarvis has been monitoring and gathering information about Bessler, he's planning something.' He explained leading Pepper to the front door; he paused allowing Jarvis to run a full security check of the house and the perimeter.

'You're being paranoid.' Pepper said coolly.

He turned sideways to look at her, 'threat is imminent and I'm not being paranoid I'm being careful.'

'You're being _overly_ careful, Tony this is your house, you have higher security here than the CIA does and NASA.' She raised an eyebrow at him.

'True, but nonetheless one can never be too careful.' He pushed the door open and let Pepper in.

'Tomorrow I'll leave; tonight I just want to be with you.' She smiled taking hold of his hand and leading him upstairs.

'That sounds good to me Potts.' He laughed softly.

He followed her upstairs pushing away the nagging feeling of doom which lingered over him like a menacing storm cloud. He swallowed the lump which had been growing since he found out about Bessler.

Watching Pepper smiling and laughing was little consolation for what he feared would come, he watched her get undressed and change into his sweat shirt taking a seat on their bed with a smile. He knotted his fingers together feeling the cold sweat creeping up on him.

'Hey, you ok?' She asked as concern replaced her smile.

He shook away the haze, 'yeah, sorry.'

She padded her way across to him and took his hands into hers, 'come to bed, everything will be alright, I promise.'

He looked down at her warm smile and felt even more uneasy, 'I need to do something, I'll be right back.'

He pulled his hands free and turned away from her gathering his thoughts; he pushed through the door before she could stop him and made his way downstairs to the workshop.

'Jarvis, bring everything up.' He called as he walked through the door.

'Certainly sir.' Jarvis replied.

Tony picked up the gauntlets and sat down on the swivel stool, 'what am I missing here?'

'I am not sure what you mean sir.' Jarvis added.

'It was a rhetorical question; show me the patent for the Extremis I took from Maya.' Tony muttered.

Jarvis brought up all the relevant files and filled the screens with formulas and calculations and all the changes and modifications Tony made after.

He leaned forward sighing, 'ok so this is where the virus has made its home.'

Tony looked through the files one after the other making changes to the equations; he took several samples of his own blood wincing every time he pricked his finger, recalibrating the virus with his blood and finally he sat back with a groan, 'I feel like a pin cushion.'

'Perhaps you can remove a larger vial of blood next time.' Jarvis offered.

'Yes, I think you're right.' Tony nodded, 'do me a favour and start a virtual fusion with my blood and these calibrations.'

'Right away sir.' Jarvis announced as the screens dropped down and the fusion began.

Tony stood up and made his way over to the mini bar, 'is Pepper asleep?'

'Yes sir, for about three hours now.'

'Three hours?' he looked up disbelievingly.

He rubbed his head, 'god, what is happening to me?'

'Shall I start listing things?' Jarvis asked.

'No Jarvis, rhetorical,' he answered sharply looking around at the workshop, 'why can't I work it out?' He muttered to himself.

He felt anger rapidly rising within him, he picked up a notebook and threw it across the room and watched as the pages flew out one by one and floated to the ground.

'Sir, can I be of any assistance?' Jarvis asked.

Tony shook his head, 'no,' he hissed, the anger was fiercer than anything he'd ever felt, it was like white rage pulsing through him, he felt heat surrounding him as a rush of wind nearly knocked him off balance as the Mark forty two armour assembled itself behind him ready for action.

'Power down!' He yelled at it before it stood down and shut off.

He expelled a shaky breath staggering backwards, 'what the hell?'

'Sir, your brain activity has changed significantly and you called the Mark forty two as a reaction to you anger.' Jarvis announced.

Tony clutched at his chest trying to catch his breath, 'how?' he breathed.

'The Beta waves have elevated exponentially and your heart rate is also elevated, you are connected to the armour now on a cellular level.' Jarvis explained.

His cool British tone soothed him somewhat, he stammered over to the chair before he collapsed into it, his mind reeling with shock, what the hell happened? The anger caused him to call his suit, was it a defence mechanism for his mind? Whatever it was, it wasn't safe, he needed to recalibrate the settings, rework them.

'Just focus on your breathing sir.' Jarvis said calmly, only then did Tony realise how much he was struggling for breath.

Tony nodded, focus, breathe, in and out….in and out…inhale and exhale…

'Your heart rate is evening out now, just keep your focus on your breathing; Miss Potts is on her way.'

'What?' Tony looked up at the ceiling, 'why?'

'Because you're on the verge of an anxiety attack, and you are my responsibility.'

Tony expelled another shaky breath trying to control his pulse, despite his best efforts of remaining calm, panic set in as his legs failed him and he collapsed against his desk.

'Tony!' Pepper yelled as she rushed over to him.

'It's nothing.' He managed.

'Nothing?' She linked her arm under his and pulled him closer against her so that he was sitting with his back against her chest, 'it's alright, just slow your breathing down.'

He nodded against her as she held him tightly her hands pressed firmly on his chest breathing with him.

'Why didn't you tell me the attacks were getting worse?' She whispered in his ear.

'I don't know, I didn't think they were this bad.' He answered through deep breaths, 'I don't know what happened.'

'It's alright, just focus on your breathing, don't try to talk.' She pulled her arms tighter around him showing him she was there.

'I'm sorry Pepper.' He choked out as his body was overcome with sobs.

'You've nothing to apologise for,' she leaned forward to catch his eye, 'it's alright, you're going to be ok.'

He shook his head, 'something is really wrong with me, and I have _no_ idea what to do.'

She pressed her palm to his forehead while still pressing the other against his chest. His forehead was beaded with sweat as he shook under her touch.

'You'll work it out, you always do,' She kissed his cheek delicately.

'Not this, I don't know how to fix this.' He admitted helplessly.

'You cured _paralysis, _and built an arc reactor and armour in a cave, you saved the world numerous times, why do you doubt yourself so much?' She felt her eyes beginning to water; she couldn't take the sight before her.

She saw so much pain in his eyes which was gone in an instant like a switch when he commanded it to. But it didn't change the fact that it was there and that she saw what it did to him.

'Because I _can't_ fix this, this is over my head.' He took deep, shaky breaths.

Pepper pulled back so that she could lean forward and meet his eyes, 'no, that's a lie and you know it, you are the smartest person on this planet and you _know _that's a fact, you gloat about it all the time, there isn't some miraculous genius walking around out there creating things that _you _don't understand,' she took a deep breath watching the change in his eyes, 'you're probably just going about it in the wrong way, that's all.'

'You're amazing,' he managed with a weak smile, 'you're right, I can do it, I don't know how yet, but I'll work it out.'

She smiled and planted a kiss on his lips, 'I know you will, come to bed?'

He nodded.

She helped him to his feet, 'you need to stop being so hard on yourself,' she said quietly as they padded through the house and up to their room.

'Guess it becomes a habit when everyone else was always hard on you.' He said solemnly.

Pepper knew that his relationship with his father was extremely difficult; the man had intolerably high expectations of his son but Pepper could understand. If you knew that your child was a genius you would want them to succeed in life and exceed expectations, he probably went about it in the wrong way leaving Tony scarred and forever doubtful in his own abilities.

He needed the occasional push from her, and she was more than happy to provide it, they had spent more than twelve years of their lives together as she watched him change and grow and become the beacon of light she now saw, metaphorically and physically.

'I'm proud of you,' she said simply.

He pulled her closer and kissed her head as they walked into the room, 'thank you.'

'Now, you need some sleep, seriously, come on.' She walked over to her side of the bed and slumped down face first, Tony right behind her.

He nuzzled his head against her neck and breathed in deeply, 'promise me you'll never leave.'

Pepper giggled as his goatee tickled her, 'I promise, besides, who else would drive me around in an R8?'

'I'm sure there are other handsome rich guys around.' He said nonchalantly.

Pepper pulled back to look at him, 'yes, but they don't have Iron Man suits, or a tower with their name on it, I think I'll stay right here,' she said with a smirk.

'Well, as long as you're happy Miss Potts.' He grinned back.

'Oh, I am.' She smiled before snuggling up against him and kissing him goodnight.

* * *

Several hours into the night Tony started whimpering in his sleep waking Pepper, she looked over his shoulder and noticed the pained expression on his face as beads of sweat dotted his face.

He thrashed against the sheets tangling himself further and further until Pepper couldn't pull him free, 'Tony,' she shook him gently, 'Tony wake up.'

She looked at him helplessly as tears spilled out from the corners of his eyes, 'Tony wake up, you're ok.'

She grabbed his arm trying to shake him awake, before she could reach for his other arm she felt a cold hand gripping her arm, 'oh my god!' she screamed out before getting pinned down against the bed by the Mark forty two armour immediately jolting Tony from his nightmare.

He got to his feet as he jumped over Pepper, 'power down!' He yelled as the armour stepped back and shut off.

He dropped to his knees, 'oh my god, I'm so sorry Pepper.'

She got to her knees shaking and in tears; he tried to reach out to her but was met by a fierce slap to the face, 'don't touch me!'

She scrambled to her feet and rushed over to the door looking at him with fear and anger in her eyes.

'Pep, please, don't go, please that wasn't meant to happen, Pepper!' He rushed over to the door but she was already gone.

'Damn it!' He yelled slamming his fist against the door and allowing his body to slide down and crash into the ground.

He didn't move for the rest of the night or the morning, he noticed that Pepper didn't come up either, he figured she had a change of clothes downstairs so she wouldn't have to see him at all.

'Sir, Miss Potts has left for work, she is returning to the house briefly before flying out with Mr Hogan.' Jarvis announced.

'Thanks.' He muttered with a sigh, he finally picked himself up from the floor and made his way downstairs, a coffee was made up for him on the bench, he smiled weakly, she still made him coffee.

'We have work to do.' He said padding down to the workshop.

Jarvis brought up all the relevant projects as soon as Tony stepped into the shop; he even added a touch of his favourite music.

'Might I suggest a scan of your blood cells this morning?' Jarvis offered.

'Sure, why not.' He dropped onto the stool, 'test away,' he pressed his finger on the blood checker and sat back and watched as his blood analysis populated the screen.

'Sir, the analysis and formulation of the virtual fusion results are ready.' Jarvis announced.

'Show me.' Tony leaned forward eagerly awaiting the results.

He held his breath as a strange sensation of nervousness overwhelmed him.

The latest blood results appeared before him as a side by side comparison to the newly formulated virus he was working on.

'Scenario failed.' Jarvis announced.

Tony dropped his gaze to the floor, 'run the synthesis again, this time inputting the new data,' he leaned forward and keyed in the new ideas he had.

'Beginning virtual formulation.' Jarvis announced.

Tony sat for hours, calculating and recalculating different scenarios and ideas, anything which held a sliver of hope, anything at all which could be plausible, to no avail.

Scenario after scenario came up as _failed_.

He finally slumped forward without a sound and hung his head in his hands.

'Sir, I'm sorry.' Jarvis offered.

He let out a shaky laugh, 'it happens.'

'Sir, Miss Potts has arrived.' Jarvis announced.

If Tony didn't know better, he could have sworn that the AI was conveying emotion to his creator.

'Thanks J.' He got to his feet and dragged himself up the stairs.

'Tony, I'm leaving now, everything has been sorted business wise for the next four days, you might have to go in and pacify the bigger deals, but other than that it should be fine without me there.' Pepper called out as she walked through the house making her way to the stairs leading to the higher level of the house.

'Pep.' Tony stood at the top of the stairs, 'wait.'

She didn't stop walking, only managed a questioning look at him before taking the stairs up to their bedroom.

'Pepper, please.' He slowly edged closer to the middle of the room.

This time she did stop, she looked down from the upper level, 'I don't have time, Happy will be here in twenty minutes.'

'We need to talk about last night.' Tony managed looking up at her.

She shook her head, 'there's nothing to talk about, your obsession is out of control, you scared me to death last night and you're still down there tinkering with whatever it is you're doing, we'll talk when I get back if you still want to talk,' she turned and began to walk away.

Tony sighed running his hand through his hair, 'you _know_ I didn't mean what happened, Pep, please, listen to me.'

Pepper turned back and looked down at him, 'no, Tony, _you_ listen, there are a lot of things I can handle, and shrug off and even laugh about, what I _cannot_ handle is being terrified to sleep next to you because one of your machines might kill me,' she started down the stairs, 'not being able to see you half of the time because you're stuck down there rather than being with me,' she was now standing right in front of him and yelling, 'and mostly I cannot handle the pressure, I don't know if you're going to die, or come through with a miracle or completely break down and kill yourself.'

Her eyes welled up as she stood right in front of him with her hands resting on her hips.

Tony looked straight at her, finally breaking the silence with a knowing sigh, 'you're right, you are, I'm sorry.'

She merely nodded, 'I don't have time… to do _this_ right now, when I get back we'll talk.'

'Ok.' He managed.

'Right.' She turned away from him and headed for the stairs once more.

A sharp, jolt of pain ran through Tony's head as he faintly recognised the unfamiliar feeling, Jarvis communicating with him through the Extremis and showing him an influx of data and incoming information, he turned on his heel, breath hitching in his chest as he saw the incoming missiles.

'Get down!' He yelled turning to Pepper who looked at him with a momentary shock and confusion.

As the missile flew through the house it rocked the foundations and sent him flying backwards, as though in slow motion all he could see was Pepper and the look of terror on her face as she began falling, without a moment of hesitation he sent the Mark forty two toward her.

Once she was safely encased he expelled the gasp he was holding and closed his eyes bracing for the impact as the ground came closer and closer.

'Tony!'

He heard Pepper's shrill cry as the building, his home, came crashing down around him.

He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain and forced the armour to take Pepper outside to safety.

'No!'

He heard her scream as she was flown outside, _rescued_.

The ceiling came crashing down around him as his feeble attempts at protecting himself failed miserably as the floor gave way underneath him and he fell through the lower floors.

'_Sir, Miss Potts is clear.' _Jarvis announced using the Extremis to communicate.

Tony closed his eyes and commanded the armour back to him.

As piece by piece locked itself safely in place, he took a deep breath as the structure finally gave way and he went plummeting into the sea below.

Darkness enveloped him as the icy cold water seeped in through the cracks mixing with his salty tears.

* * *

'Tony!' Pepper ran to edge of the cliff, where once stood their home, now stood a pile of fiery rubble.

Reporters had already started circling and she could see the news crews speeding up the highway toward her.

The sirens from the police and ambulance pierced through her ears as her own screams for him broke through the dust.

She felt weakness spreading from within her until she collapsed to her knees as sobs wracked her body.

'Pepper?' She heard a familiar voice calling through all the noise.

She looked around searching for the voice and with it some sense of normalcy.

He appeared with a concerned look as he rounded the corner, dodging reporters and rushing over to pull her into his arms.

'Oh my god, I saw it on the news, Jesus, are you alright?' Happy pushed her at arm's length and lifted her chin to check over her face and body for injuries, 'Pepper,' he shook her as she looked out into the distance with a blank expression on her face, 'are you hurt?'

She shook her head absently still looking out at where the house once stood.

Happy ran his hand through his hair looking around at the rubble, 'was Tony home?'

Pepper started shaking as tears spilled freely down her cheeks.

'Pepper,' Happy started to panic, 'where is Tony?'

After the words finally registered, Pepper looked up at him, 'oh God, Tony?'

'Yes, Tony, where is he, was he home?' Happy repeated as the panic set in.

Pepper started to cry uncontrollably as Happy waited for an answer he knew he didn't want.

'Yes,' she dropped her head into her hands, 'he was.'

* * *

**So the next chapter is going to be quite a lot darker, as those of you who've read my other work will know, I like this style, so hang in there, it will get lighter eventually.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's another one for you lovely people**

* * *

Rhodey landed at the military base after being called back by one of the sergeants, he looked around suspiciously trying to work out what the reason was behind being called back so abruptly.

His flight home, to base was more than five hours, so the request was highly unorthodox, and it came as a complete surprise to him.

'Thank you for coming in so promptly, Colonel,' a senior officer who stood before him said in a firm voice only raising more suspicion from Rhodey.

'Of course, your man said it was urgent?' He followed him across the tarmac and inside under cover.

The area they'd been monitoring had become an active warzone so being away from it made no sense to him, but under these circumstances, whatever they were, he guessed this task was more important.

Once inside Rhodey dismantled the suit and stood before the captain awaiting eagerly the reason for being called back.

The captain closed the door and walked over to Rhodey expelling a heavy sigh.

'Please sit, Colonel.' He spoke quietly gesturing to the chair behind the desk, never breaking eye contact with him.

Rhodey furrowed his eyebrows, 'ok,' he sat down apprehensively.

'I wanted you to see this for yourself before you heard it from a nosy reporter, you know how they get…'he trailed off.

Rhodey shifted uncomfortably as scenario after scenario popped up into his head, each one more impossible than the previous.

'What is it sir?' He asked finally as curiosity ran fiercely through his blood.

The captain opened the drawer under his desk and retrieved a tablet slowly handing it to Rhodey.

He took it from him giving him a quizzical look before finally pressing play, the lump in his throat grew as the image panned across the familiar stretch of the pacific coast highway, and where Tony's Malibu home should have been, lay a pile of million dollar rubble.

He felt his breath catch as the reporter's solemn voice came through the speakers, "_Billionaire, Futurist, Tony Stark presumed dead as terror attack on his Malibu mansion leaves Americans in fear, reports emerging show CEO Pepper Potts has survived the attack and has not been available for comment at this stage."_

Rhodey placed the tablet carefully on the desk and stood up without a sound.

'I'm sorry Colonel.' The man stood up.

Rhodey only managed a nod while his insides raged with pure hatred and anger.

He clenched his jaw shut and stepped out of the office making his way through the men who all tried to wordlessly console him.

Without a word he rushed back to his armour and finally broke down as the War Machine encased him in his own personal safe house.

He input the coordinates to fly _home _as Tony had programmed it. Oh god, Tony…he squeezed his eyes shut as tears threatened to consume him.

The suit flew faster and faster as his heart slammed mercilessly against his ribs.

Memories involuntarily flashed before his eyes rendering him a complete mess, he could see the look on Tony's face as he left a man and came back a hero, the look on his face when he first told him that he was in love with Pepper, and the look on his face when he told him he was going to propose…

Rhodey blinked away the watery haze as the highway came into view and along with it the haunting memory of where his friend's house once stood.

He landed a few yards away; police were still hovering about as the fire brigade still struggled to get the several burning blazes under control.

The armour slowly came away from his body allowing him to step outside and he was immediately hit with the smell of fire mixed in with the ocean breeze which only made it worse.

He walked without any sense of direction, he stammered and stumbled across the grounds, several hands touching him trying to hold him back and all he could do was push past and mumble something about being a friend and being authorised to be here.

He finally managed to free himself from prying hands and broke through the crowds, he found himself in the courtyard surrounded by the rubble which once formed the balcony and he recognised the tiles beneath his feet as those from the bathroom upstairs.

He recognised remnants of what once was the workshop wall as shattered glass crunched beneath his feet.

His stomach dropped as he recognised the redhead who sat in a heap in what once was their living room.

'Pep,' he managed, though barely a whisper she heard him.

Happy released her from his arms as she got to her feet and staggered toward him.

He weakly draped his arms around her feeling her cold shivering body in his arms. But then again, he wasn't feeling any better. The cold sweat spread through his veins as bile started to build up in the back of his throat and the pounding in his head grew louder and louder.

Happy joined them nodding weakly at Rhodey, 'thank you for coming.'

Rhodey nodded and managed a sigh, 'I, I don't know what to do.'

Pepper let out a painful sob, 'I don't know either.'

Happy squeezed her shoulder, 'we need to get you away from here, then we can think straight.'

She shook her head, 'no, no everything is here, if I leave it's gone, it's over.'

Rhodey pulled back, 'he's right, Pep, we need to get you somewhere safe,' he looked around at the strangers invading their land, 'come on, you can stay with me.'

Pepper pulled free from his grip, 'no, Rhodey, I'm not leaving, this…this is our home, I can't leave.'

'There's nothing left, this isn't…I know this is hard, but you can't stay here.' He stepped toward her closing the gap between them, he took her hand into his, 'it's not safe, if they were targeting both of you…they know you survived, we have to get you somewhere safe.'

Happy squeezed her shoulder, 'come on, Pep, we need to go.'

Pepper finally gave in nodding as tears streamed down her face, not another word was exchanged between them as they walked to Happy's car.

He pulled the door open and waited for Pepper to get inside, once seated he closed the door and leaned heavily against the roof making eye contact with Rhodey who mirrored him on the other side.

Rhodey chewed on his bottom lip looking over at Happy who looked like he wanted to speak but words evaded him, 'what do we do now?'

Happy shrugged, 'I don't know, I was meant to take Pepper on a trip, he wanted her safe while he worked this out…'

'Man,' Rhodey bowed his head, 'how did this happen…'

'I don't know.' Happy sighed pulling the door open and getting inside, 'We'll meet you at your place,' Happy nodded to Rhodey who already stepped into the War Machine.

Pepper sat in the passenger seat looking out at the ocean as they drove in silence as the stars twinkled cruelly against the dark backdrop. The smell of the smoke had ingrained itself into her clothes still stinging her already raw eyes as new tears fell without warning.

Happy sighed looking down at the clock, they would have been in the air, on their way to a beautiful retreat while Tony worked everything out, _look after Pepper_, that was all he had to do, and now that's all he would ever do.

'_A reminder for your appointment Mr Hogan,'_ The automated voice began to speak, Tony had installed anything and everything he invented into the Rolls Royce, it was his way of irritating Happy and sometimes he would leave important messages, sometimes he would just leave messages of Tony being Tony, always annoying beyond belief but always making him laugh.

This time he sighed as he braced himself knowing there was no way to silence the message and no way to stop _his _voice from breaking the silence.

'_Hey Hogan, just reminding you to bring Pepper home in once piece, and preferably still interested in me, oh and don't forget to pick up that thing I told you about, remember, the store on fifth, under your name buddy, anyway, I've got a lot to do, wish me luck and I will see you soon.'_

Pepper sat frozen in place and only after the message ended did she realise she was holding her breath.

She finally let out a shaky sigh, and looked down at her hands.

'He loved you so much.' Happy managed breaking down as he spoke.

'We were having a fight…' she looked at him, 'We were arguing because I was upset about his obsession with the suits...'

Happy wiped away the stray tears which fell from his own eyes as he listened to Pepper speak.

'He was trying to get me to understand, and I wouldn't let him talk, and that was the last thing we spoke about,' she spoke quietly and calmly, looking out through the window never turning to face Happy.

'He saved me, I watched as the house came crashing down around him, he didn't even stop to think about himself, even after everything that I said, he still saved _me_.'

There were no words that would suffice; her suffering was something which would only grow worse, and harder and more impossible by the day.

The drive was a silent one, save for Peppers crying and Happy's own choked sobs. Once they finally arrived at Rhodey's apartment block, he pulled into the visitor's car park.

Neither of them moved.

Happy finally broke the silence with a heavy sigh, 'is there anything I can do?'

She shook her head weakly.

'Ok,' Happy opened his door and slowly made his way over to her side, 'come on.'

They walked together to his apartment in silence, once they reached the door Happy alerted Rhodey and he buzzed them in.

He stepped back and allowed them to walk in gently closing the door behind them.

'I've left some fresh towels out for you in the bathroom, and some sweats, take your time.' He explained to Pepper who walked through the apartment without a word.

Happy and Rhodey looked at each other with concern, 'I'll get some coffee ready, and I've ordered some pizza, pepperoni, your favourite,' he tried to interest Pepper.

She nodded absently and made her way to the bathroom closing the door without a word.

Happy rubbed his face and dropped into the couch, 'god, I can't believe it.'

'I can't either.' Rhodey managed.

They sat in silence, neither touched their coffee and neither man spoke and both tried to pretend that they didn't hear the agonising sobs coming from the bathroom, both tried to pretend that they weren't feeling the same, only they could never feel the same.

What Tony and Pepper had was a connection very few people in the world ever found, and when that connection was lost, the result was catastrophic.

'I don't know how to help her, what are we supposed to do?' Happy looked to Rhodey for the answers he knew he didn't have.

Rhodey shook his head, 'I don't know, I can't even think about this right now.'

Happy stood up shaking his head, 'we have to, for Pepper, she's not going to cope, not this time.'

'I know,' Rhodey dropped his head in his hands, 'believe me I do, but this is not something we were ever prepared for, I don't even know where to begin.'

'We'll get through it together, somehow.' Happy said quietly making his way over to Rhodey's fridge, he pulled out two beers and brought them over to the couch.

With a sigh they both took a bottle each and gently tapped them together, 'to Tony,' as Pepper's sobs resonated through the bathroom walls, a sombre melody to their drinking.

* * *

The water ran over her body washing away the dust which had settled in her hair and on her skin, continuous tears flowed down her cheeks getting lost in the water making her cry even more.

Breathing was becoming harder and harder as her shallow breaths became sobs, and the sobs became agonising cries. Before she could stop herself she was leaning heavily against the shower wall, sliding down to her knees. She collapsed against the wall curled in a heap.

'Pepper?' Rhodey's voice sounded feint behind the bathroom door, 'are you ok?'

She couldn't manage words, whenever she opened her mouth only a gargled cry came out.

'Can I get you anything?' He asked.

Pepper shook against the wall, wrapping her arms tighter around her stomach, 'no,' she managed loud enough.

'Ok.' Rhodey called back.

She sighed heavily sobbing into her hands pushing her hair away as it fell over her eyes, 'why, why did you let this happen, why?'

Pepper sat under the running water, crying to herself letting as much out as she could, the tears were no longer controllable and the water no longer ran hot, but her body was so far from feeling; the cold may have been hot, it may not have been there at all. She was so completely numb that the pain was no longer a conscious thought; it was merely a throbbing thorn in the side and something which would become a permanent fixture in her life.

'Come on Potts,' she finally hissed to herself, 'get up.'

She dragged herself to her feet clutching onto whatever she could to find her feet, once she stepped out onto the cold tiles she grabbed the towel which Rhodey laid out and wrapped it around herself allowing the water to drip from her hair.

'Pull it together.' She whispered to her foggy reflection.

Finally she managed to dress herself without bothering to dry her hair, the sweater she pulled on was almost instantly drenched by her hair but she found she couldn't care less.

Slowly, after close to an hour of deliberating what to do, she finally pushed the door open and made her way to the living room.

Rhodey and Happy remained seated and she mentally thanked them. She dropped her clothes into a bag she retrieved from the kitchen and disposed of them in the trash.

'The pizza is a bit cold, but I can reheat it for you.' Rhodey said from the couch.

She shook her head and pulled a slice out of the box and slumped into the couch beside Happy.

'It's better cold anyway, better flavours.' She murmured taking another bite.

She found the food good but everything was so difficult to do, breathing was hard, eating was almost impossible and this was only the first day. She closed her eyes and felt more unstoppable tears invade her.

'You can take the bed, and I'll stay here, Happy's offered to stay as well.' Rhodey explained as gently as he could.

Pepper nodded weakly, 'I'll take care of everything tomorrow, I'll start planning…everything,' she trailed.

Rhodey leaned forward still holding the beer bottle in his hand, 'you don't have to, just take your time.'

'I have to start, I can't let the company fall, I have to focus on that…the shares…everything will start dropping.' She knew she was rambling but it was the only thing she could do to keep from crying.

Happy placed his hand on her shoulder which she immediately shrugged away uncomfortably; he repositioned himself beside her and cleared his throat, 'you arranged everything to be taken care of for at least a week without you.'

Pepper shook her head, 'I think _this _situation is a little bit different from the arrangement which I made.'

'You're right, Pep, I just…' He trailed off getting to his feet, 'he was my friend too and I'm trying to make this work.'

Pepper shot him a look immediately cursing herself. Of course he would be hurting and Rhodey as well; she dropped her head into her hands and allowed Rhodey to comfort her.

'I'm so sorry Happy,' she looked up as new tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over, 'god I'm a mess, I'm sorry.'

'Don't be,' He sat down on the coffee table and took her hands into his, 'we'll be ok.'

Rhodey placed his hands on top of theirs and offered a weak smile trying to hold back a sob as his red-rimmed eyes welled up.

Pepper pulled her hands free and clapped them over her face and began to cry without much warning to herself, 'god, no, Tony,' she cried as hard as her body would allow and somehow managed coherent words, 'I can't believe this is happening.'

Happy pulled both her and Rhodey into an embrace, whatever they were feeling was overwhelming and painful and impossible to deal with.

Pepper cried and cried, she was utterly and hopelessly inconsolable, Rhodey and Happy tried whatever they could to be there for her to hold her up, but it was impossible as neither of them were able to find their own feet either.

* * *

**As I mentioned last time, most of this is losely based on the Extremis comics, not the movie version... sorry for any confusion. So for the next parts of the story that's what we'll be seeing.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for reading, here's another chapter**

* * *

He blinked through the greying haze which seemed to consume every fibre of his being, he hurt, _everything_ hurt.

A shallow breath escaped his lips and a moan which sounded like a gargled cry reverberated through his skull.

'Try not to move, you'll only make it worse.' A soft voice whispered from within the darkness.

_Make it worse? How is that even possible, make _what_ worse? He didn't even know _what_ happened, or where he was._

'I tried my best to contain the wound, but without the proper facilities it's impossible.' The voice added quietly.

Tony tried to move but his arms felt heavy by his side and the rest of his body didn't feel any better either. He felt the pounding thuds of his heart against the casing of the reactor wall steadily gain speed as panic began to rise.

Darkness….cave…torture… not again, 'no,' he wanted to yell but it came out in barely an audible whisper.

'You have to slow your breathing; this isn't good, you'll go into cardiac arrest.' She explained as Tony noticed the voice was moving closer.

Tony knew what she was saying was right, he had felt this before, many times in his life and it didn't make it any easier. He squeezed his eyes shut hoping that it would ease the pain, at least a little.

'Please, you have to slow your breathing.' She repeated softly with a touch of urgency.

Tony did as he was instructed and a soft hand touched his forehead. He flinched slightly then focussed on the shallow breaths as best as he could and focussed on slowing them down.

'Good, that's better, my name is Katarina, and I'm a doctor.' She paused for a moment before continuing, 'I hope I didn't make a mistake in bringing you here.' She murmured.

Tony tried to crack his eyes open and was relieved to see and hear a soft burning fire.

He turned his head slightly and took in his surrounds; he was in a room in an old fashioned wooden house with wooden floors with photo frames of a family and a happy child littering the many shelves which stood throughout the room.

His eyes darted around trying to absorb as much as possible whilst trying to push away the pounding headache which was forming at astronomical speeds. He finally looked up at the woman who knelt beside him and she offered a weak smile.

Tony drew his gaze away from her and looked around again; he noticed that all the same familial décor that adorned the entire room reminded him loosely of his own home growing up; those few years he remembered where his family was a _family. _Book shelves with science books, and endless encyclopaedias, medical journals and other educational resources adorned the majority of this room, this woman was not only a doctor as she explained, there was much more to her.

His mind raced through different possibilities and probabilities. He reached the conclusions she was most likely a scientist, his mind slowly calmed down and he took in the rest of the room where a large box in front of the fireplace caught his attention. It was overflowing with papers, photos, and newspaper clippings. He recognised his face on several of them making his mind race again.

He turned back to her, 'who are you?'

Katarina looked down at him, 'a friend,' she said simply.

Tony considered this, 'you don't seem like a GP.'

She laughed softly, 'I'm not, I'm a research scientist, well I was; now I freelance.'

Tony looked at her intently, searching for any sign of possible danger or betrayal, 'how did I get here?' He glanced around the room as panic sprang up in his mind again, 'my suit?'

Katarina sat on her legs, tucking them under herself pulling her jumper tighter around her body, 'I saw you, on the shore when I was collecting firewood,' She gestured toward a large stack of wood beside the fireplace.

Tony looked at the stack and then back at her.

'And your armour is in a heap in the next room,' she looked at him.

He gathered his strength and tried to sit up.

'Don't, you'll pull the stiches.' She firmly placed her hand on his chest and pushed him back down.

Tony looked at her suspiciously, 'what did you do to me?'

He looked down at the source of the pain, the _most_ immense pain quickly deciding it was his abdomen.

'You must have fallen on something, a metal rod I presume, from the shape of the wound, that's how I found you, my dog sniffed you out; you were bleeding out all over the snow, which is really lucky I suppose, kept the wound from getting infected,' she explained lifting Tony's shirt up slightly so that he could see the bandages, 'like I said, the facilities aren't the best for this kind of thing,' she nodded around at her house, 'but I did what I could to keep you alive.'

'Thank you.' Tony whispered and he was suddenly more aware of the pain pulsating through the gash in his abdomen, he squeezed his eyes shut and expelled a hiss of pain.

'I just hope you get the bastard who did it.' She said equally as quiet.

Tony grit his teeth as he remembered the missiles, Pepper.

He shot up and immediately regretted it; he let out a painful cry. Katarina moved forward quickly and caught him against her.

Tony's vision greyed out before him and he felt himself falling backwards once again only this time it wasn't a free-fall, he was safe on the couch once more.

'Breathe, you're ok.' She gently touched his forehead again, 'your friends are safe.' She said finally, as if she read his mind.

'How do you know?' He managed squeezing his eyes shut against the pain he'd caused himself.

'It's on the news; the whole thing has been for days.' She answered quietly, she returned to his side with a wet cloth and she started dabbing his forehead.

'How long have I been out?' he finally opened his eyes and met hers.

'Three days.' She looked at him quizzically, 'the first day was difficult, you were coming in and out, I thought I'd lost you at one point, but whatever you've got in you kept you alive.'

Tony nodded against the pillow, the Extremis; of course, he would have died from the wounds and blood loss alone had it not been for the virus…

'I took some bloods to make sure there's no infection,' she tapped to cotton ball taped to his inner elbow.

'What, no, you shouldn't have done that.' Tony swallowed hard trying to get up again.

She pushed him down once more, 'don't worry, whatever you've got in there is your business, no one will know.'

'You'll know, and besides, I was targeted for a specific reason.' He added trying to disguise his fear.

'So, not just because you're a womanising playboy?' She arched an eye brow.

He smirked, '_was_ a womanising playboy, not anymore, and no, not because of that.'

Katarina smiled, 'well that's a relief, wouldn't want people getting the wrong idea about you.'

'No we wouldn't, because that's never happened,' he added sarcastically arching his eye brows.

'They took out your whole house, it was pretty extravagant.' She mused after a few moments of silence.

'Right.' Tony nodded remembering the final moments after the explosion and plummeting into the ocean below.

'They think your dead; I didn't know what you wanted to do, so I didn't contact anyone.' She offered handing him several newspapers with his face on the front page of all of them.

_Industrialist Tony Stark presumed dead after terror attack on his Malibu home._

He frowned at the headlines, 'thanks, 'he managed, 'you did the right thing, but I can't stay here.'

'I think you need to, for at least a week, get this wound under control and then you're free to go.' She smiled, 'besides, my son would kill me if I didn't let him meet you.'

Tony looked up at her and managed a smile, 'that him in the pictures?' He nodded to the mantle over the fireplace.

'Yep, he was just a baby there, he's fourteen now, and the _biggest_ fan of Iron Man.' She smiled.

Tony laughed at this, 'I live to please,' he shifted uncomfortably trying to take as much pressure off his wound as he could, 'can we maybe do that in the morning?'

'Of course, you definitely need the rest.' She smiled gently and left him to it, 'by the way, that stuff is for you, a friend dropped it off _years_ ago.' She pointed to the box, 'I was meant to keep it safe, but I guess _you_ can take it now.'

'A mutual friend?' Tony glanced curiously at the box.

Katarina stopped at the door and looked back at him, 'yeah Maya,' she said noticing the lost expression on his face, 'Maya Hansen,' she reiterated before shutting the door, 'get some rest.'

Tony furrowed his eye brows trying to grasp this turn of events; a box of articles pertaining to his life, from Maya Hansen, in this 'mutual friend's' house…

He chewed his bottom lip trying to comprehend everything which happened in the last seventy two hours.

He came up empty on any solid conclusions and instead he was left with dozens of unexplained questions and scenarios which made him extremely concerned.

Firstly: he was injured and couldn't even sit up on his own, secondly, he didn't even know where he was, he had no way of repairing his suit and his head was in no state whatsoever to communicate with Jarvis.

He sunk further into the pillows and squeezed his eyes shut trying to think of anything that would be of help. Nothing.

* * *

_It has been three days since the attack on Tony Stark's Malibu home, and three days since the industrialist was killed leaving Stark Industries in disarray. CEO Pepper Potts has not been seen yet, and questions have been asked, who will run the company and who will take her job? She is not expected to return to the position following Stark's death as the pair recently became romantically involved; leaving this an extremely difficult time for Potts._

Pepper sat in the bed with the tablet firmly planted in her hands. The news became more and more morbid and difficult to bear as the hours went on and eventually became days.

She didn't want to watch how the world tried to cash in on Tony's death, or watch as the company _he _loved started to fall without her, she didn't _want_ to be the one to let it fail but she couldn't bring herself to get out of bed for more than a shower or the occasional meal in the kitchen.

Rhodey and Happy tried to coax her out of the room for more than five minutes but their strength was depleted trying to console each other as well as Pepper. She blatantly shut them down whenever they tried, she felt bad about it but she was justified.

'Pepper, can I come in?' Rhodey knocked on the door drawing a sigh from Pepper.

'Sure.' She murmured loud enough so that he could hear.

She dropped her gaze to the tablet again as a new reporter came on to discuss her thoughts on the events of the week.

_It's a tragic, eerie feeling which surrounds us here as we stand where once stood the beautiful home of billionaire Tony Stark, it now resembles a pile of rubble from a war zone, remnants of what once was the industrialists playground now serves as a tomb and a sad reminder of how quickly life can be snatched away from us._

Pepper rolled her eyes and muted the sound; she looked up at Rhodey who stood with his arms crossed looking at her, a sombre expression etched permanently on his face.

'I ordered Chinese, hungry?' He asked walking over to her taking a seat on the bed.

She considered her actual hunger and decided she didn't want food, 'maybe later.'

Rhodey rubbed his face, 'you need to eat Pep.'

'Not hungry,' she replied with a sigh.

'Pep-'

'-I know, ok, I know, I just don't _want_ to, I don't want to eat, I don't want to deal with this,' she pointed to the blackberry which was continuously vibrating, 'I don't want to say good bye or admit he's gone, I don't want to let the company fall, you know what I _do _want?' She looked up at him as tears began to flow down her cheeks and fall silently on the bed sheets.

Rhodey shook his head allowing her to continue.

'I _want _this to be a bad dream,' she let out an exasperated sigh and laughed sarcastically, 'I _want_ him to be alive.'

Rhodey nodded and reached over pulling her against him while she cried it out, 'so do I, Pep.'

'It's not fair, he changed and came back a better person and became Iron Man and he saved so many people, why did this happen to him?' She cried without holding back while she was sure Rhodey was crying too.

As guilty as she felt for not being there for him, she couldn't find the strength.

'I'm sorry Rhodey, I'm so sorry, he was your best friend and I'm a complete mess, god, I'm sorry, so so sorry Rhodey.'

'No, no, no, hey, Pepper, you've got nothing to be sorry for…at all.' He pulled her tighter against him clutching her hair.

She could feel his heavy breathing against her neck as he let out everything just as she was, she realised then how much he was holding in and how much he needed her.

They sat in each other's arms crying while Rhodey tried to make her laugh remembering the annoying, and funny things Tony did. The more Pepper laughed the sadder she felt, she knew this was the process of letting go and she refused.

She pulled free from him and got to her feet abruptly, 'I need, I need space, ok, just give me some time.'

Rhodey got to his feet and quickly hugged her, 'take all the time you need, we're here.'

'Thank you, thanks.' She ran into the bathroom and closed the door sliding down against it until she was in a heap on the floor in tears.

She couldn't contain herself, nothing was going to make this better and she couldn't even comprehend how she would ever be able to live again.

'Rhodey!' She called finally deciding whatever she was going through she couldn't do it alone.

'Pepper?' He called back.

'I, I need you, please.' She sobbed moving away from the door so he could come in.

'Hey, come on,' he kneeled down to pull her into his arms and lift her up, 'come on, you're ok.'

She allowed herself to be led to the living room where Happy was sitting on the couch; he got up immediately and helped Pepper to sit down instead.

'Come on sweetheart, have some tea, it'll help you sleep,' Happy brought a pot over from the kitchen and placed a cup in her hands, 'just drink, I know you don't want to, but trust me, you will feel better.' He added.

She nodded and finally listened to what was being said, she took a sip of the tea, and just as Happy said, she did feel slightly better. The overwhelming sense of panic and helplessness began to dissipate and she felt relaxed.

She finished the last sip and Happy took the cup from her, as soon as her hands were free she felt herself leaning back against the couch as a warm feeling washed over her. She closed her eyes and drifted off.

* * *

'You drugged her?' Rhodey stood up looking at Happy incredulously.

He nodded placing the cup on the coffee table, 'trust me, she needs to sleep, properly, she hasn't slept in days.'

Rhodey sat back down rubbing his face looking down at Pepper, 'oh boy, ok, she's going to be pissed.'

'She's not going to remember,' Happy said picking Pepper up and carrying her to Rhodey's room again, 'all she'll remember is a fantastic sleep, and when she's refreshed we'll be able to start dealing.'

Happy closed the door once Pepper was tucked in, 'all of us will,' he sighed.

Rhodey nodded, 'what was in that tea?'

Happy smirked, 'a little fun stuff from college.'

'Oh, some of Tony's party stuff huh?' Rhodey smiled.

'Yeah,' Happy sighed, 'only the best.'

They sat side by side and ate their dinner in silence while Pepper slept. When she woke up there would be so much to talk about and start to work on. But for now they would pretend that this wasn't the worst time of their lives.

* * *

**So I know there are people out there who read and don't review, that's all good, thanks for reading :) And some people have taken the time to tell me that the story is too dark, I also know this, but, that is what it is, and I'm probably not going to change it drastically, it's not my style, nor is it how I pictured this particular fic going. Having said that, I will be making it lighter where I can, but aside from that, it's not a cheery fic unfortunately for those who want to see that.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for all your kind words**

* * *

Tony's eyes flickered open as a rustling sound jolted him from his dreams.

He looked around groggily and spotted Katarina sitting by the fire with multiple books scattered around her while she typed away furiously on her laptop.

Occasionally she sighed and ran her hands through her hair fiercely.

Tony gently eased himself up onto his elbows and grunted slightly as the pain from last night shot through his abdomen.

Katarina turned at the source of noise and offered a weak smile, 'sorry I didn't mean to wake you,' she made her way over to him and helped him sit up.

'You didn't, I think I've never slept that long in my life.' He managed a smile while trying to hide the grimace which was eagerly trying to take over. The pain in his abdomen was excruciating and the pounding in his head was so loud he could barely hear his own thoughts.

Once he was seated comfortably Katarina made her way back to her books and sat down, 'if you're feeling up to it, I could use your help.'

Tony looked at her in kind of a quizzical way raising an eyebrow at her, 'ah, sure, what are you working on?'

She sat cross legged with her laptop balancing on her knee while she picked up a text book and several manila folders which lay messily beside her.

'It's a code I've been trying to crack for years, it's for molecular regeneration,' she pressed her fingers to her temple, 'only I can't work it out and it's been driving me crazy.'

'Ok,' he asked dubiously, 'what have you got so far?' He shifted uncomfortable trying to take away the pressure from the wound.

She gathered the files she was holding and shuffled over to him balancing her books and laptop in both hands, 'take a look,' she dropped everything into his lap.

'So we're working on stabilising these cells so that the recalibrated ones can adapt?' He looked over the notes growing more suspicious as he spoke.

'Yes, exactly, so why won't this work?' She looked up at him pleadingly.

He glanced at her, 'when did you start working on this?

She sighed pulling out more notes, 'well, I started with this idea back in college about twenty years ago, got together with Maya after and have been trying to work on it, but since she took most of my work and left, I'm missing almost everything I need to make this work.'

'You were working on this with Maya?' He asked incredulously.

She shook her head, 'no, _she_ was working on it with _me_.'

Tony scratched his head, 'ok, so she was working on it with you and _you_ created it?'

Katarina laughed, 'yes, that's what I said, why?'

He shook his head, 'no reason, show me everything else, I need to see your earliest notes, any changes you've made since then and,' he paused looking over the notes on the laptop, 'this is most recent?'

'Yes,' she turned the laptop towards herself and scrolled down slightly, 'this is where I've been struggling,' she tapped the screen.

He nodded, 'leave it with me for a few hours, I'd like to run over everything and see, maybe something was missed in the initial phases,' he considered the notes briefly then looked back at her, 'have any human trials taken place?'

She shot him a concerned look, 'of course not, this isn't even theoretically possible yet, let alone safe enough to trial.'

Tony nodded, his suspicions slightly eased, even though she knew Maya and had been working on the Extremis with her years ago, she was nowhere near as crazy as Maya was.

He needed to see what was done with this virus before Maya approached him, before Mallen and before his own transformation.

Katerina took Tony's hand into hers and pressed her fingers to his wrist, 'the wound needs to be looked at and redressed, we can't risk infection…' she trailed off still taking his pulse, after a minute she smiled, 'everything is ok here, when I get back we'll change the dressing and we'll see what to do about this.' She nodded toward the notes in his hand.

Tony nodded in agreement; vivid flashes of the disaster flooded his mind. Most vividly of all he remembered Pepper's face, the sheer terror which crossed her flawless features as her body was encased in the Iron Man armour and forced outside. That's all he needed, to know that she was safe and that she was going to survive, once he knew that, the pain which came as he fell through the floor and into the ocean was nothing compared to the pain of losing her. He didn't wince as the armour began to fail him and the debris of his own house closed in around him, he didn't even think twice about the metal rod which almost impaled him as he was dragged under, farther and farther into the abyss. He closed his eyes remembering that Pepper was safe and that's all that mattered.

Katerina squeezed his hand gently drawing his attention back to the present, 'I have to get lunch ready, so I'll see you in a bit,' she left everything on the couch beside him or near enough to reach, 'if you need anything just call, my son will be home soon, so if you're up to it?'

Tony nodded, 'sure, no problems.'

Katarina finally left him alone; he rubbed his face groggily and sighed, 'Maya, Maya, Maya.'

Hour after hour passed and Tony didn't take his eyes off the notes, furiously looking back and forth at his formulas from his own recalibrated version, and her notes before Maya's input.

He finally closed his eyes and frustration took over, he shoved everything aside and slumped back against the cushions. He saw where she was going wrong and he saw how he could easily fix it. The Extremis he re calibrated and injected himself with acted as an enhancer. His own intellect was magnified even more, and it was terrifying and exciting all at the same time. He remembered Pepper mentioning that Natasha had been concerned about him, she was right to be. The attack on their jet was a reminder of how much was at stake. He nearly got her killed just for being around him, then seeing that she knew more than she let on was enough to push through this and solve it.

Now with this new information before him he saw how the situation would unfold if he helped her; the potential risk and everything that could go wrong. But the scientist in him also saw exciting new possibilities and beginnings which could come from this, just like the Extremis saved his life and made him even better than he was before.

But then there were the bad things, the illness, the fatigue, the uncertainty; he was a genius and even _his_ mind was beginning to struggle containing it, he knew he should be asking for help, there was so much he wanted to ask of The Avengers, just to have some kind of back up after everything that had happened.

He sighed heavily looking back down at the notes.

Finally feeling ready to contact Jarvis again, he pinched the bridge of his nose and concentrated through the pounding headache.

'_J, you there?'_

'_Yes, sir, always ready.'_

Tony nodded to himself, _'I need your help buddy, the tracker I've installed in Happy's car, access it, make sure Pepper's safe, and don't mention anything about me, as long as they think I'm out of the picture they'll be fine.'_

'_Of course sir.'_

'_Also, I need to know my situation and options, I've got no workable armour and I'm pretty sure the Extremis is attacking me again, the suppressers aren't working anymore.' _Tony leaned forward and sighed, he was well aware of the direness surrounding him and the nagging nausea which came when the suppressers were starting to wear off. Only this wasn't _wearing_ off, this was just not working anymore. The virus had become immune to whatever he tried and the only choices he had left were to completely cure himself of the virus which was out of the question, if it were even possible which he doubted, or, let it slowly eat away at him until he died or became a vegetable, also out of the question.

Tony's thoughts were chased away as a small tap on the door drew his attention.

'Sir, Mr Stark, may I come in?' The young boy peered through the cracked door.

Tony smiled at the formalities, 'of course you can, come on in.'

The boy grinned and pushed the door open; he came through pulling behind him the Mark forty two.

'I thought you would want to fix this, and I thought maybe, if it's ok with you, I could help?' He asked shyly.

'You know what, that would actually be really helpful, bring it over here and let's see what we can do.' Tony gestured.

The boy pulled the pile along with him and stopped a few feet away from Tony.

'I can't believe I'm actually meeting you Mr Stark,' he held his hand out excitedly.

Tony reciprocated with a smile, 'Tony is fine kid, and you are?'

The boy nodded, 'Jack.'

'Nice to meet you Jack, want to pass me the helmet and we'll get started?'

Tony needed the distraction and to get his mind off the virus for at least a few hours.

Jack grinned and brought him the helmet, still slightly star struck he kept his distance only making Tony laugh.

'_J, run the tests, and compile a rundown of the symptoms and the changes.' _He smiled at Jack while maintaining communication with Jarvis.

'_Of course sir.'_

The ability to communicate like this with Jarvis was something Tony cherished, and amongst other cool things the Extremis allowed him to do, it also gave him the privacy he needed.

He rolled his eyes at Jack's distance and laughed, 'come on kid, how are we meant to work together when you're all the way over there?'

Much to Tony's relief, Jack nodded then finally stepped forward.

Tony swung his legs off the couch and sat facing forward holding the helmet in his hands.

'Will you be able to fix him?' Jack asked.

Tony shrugged, 'I don't know, but we'll try.'

Jack nodded sitting on his legs in front of Tony, 'what happened to him?'

Tony look down at the kid, 'well, a lot actually, but this damage here was caused by crashing into the ground, just out there.' Tony nodded toward the window.

'Wow, and your house was blown up, everyone thinks you're dead.' He added.

'Yeah, I guess that works in my favour.' Tony mused.

Jack arched his eyebrow at him, 'how?'

'Well, if the bad guys think I'm dead, they won't know I'm coming, right?' He said with a smirk.

Jack nodded, 'oh yeah, well that's good then, you'll get them right?'

'I will,' Tony grinned, 'now let's work on this shall we?'

Jack got to his feet eagerly and awaited Tony's instructions, 'do you need help, mom said you were hurt?'

Tony shook his head, 'no problems kid, I'm pretty resilient, let's move this over to the table over there and I'm going to need a few things.'

Jack took the helmet from Tony's hand and made his way over to the table while Tony carefully eased himself off the couch and struggled over the table, he dropped into the chair squeezing his eyes shut as a wave of nausea shot through him.

'Are you ok Tony?' Jack stepped closer to him.

Tony pursed his lips and slowed his breathing down, 'yeah buddy, I'm fine, know if your mom's got any pain killers?'

'Yeah, she told me you might need some,' Jack moved over to the shelves by the fireplace, 'right here,' he grinned.

'We're definitely going to get along, kid.' Tony nodded taking the pills from him and the glass of water Katerina had left out for him, 'so,' he paused looking around at the equipment he had at hand, 'like I said, I'm going to need a few things.'

Jack took a note book and a pen and waited for Tony's instructions.

Tony looked around again before listing off a number of items which Jack eagerly wrote down on his notebook. Once the list was finally compiled Jack took off on his mission.

The smile on the kids face brightened Tony's mood, he was never one for kids nor had the thought of having his _own_ kids ever crossed his mind. Sure he had done dozens if not hundreds of school presentations, signed autographs and visited sick children in hospital, but being around a kid and actually wanting to be there, that was different for him. It gave him a fresh perspective of the world he was fighting for everyday and kids like Jack made everything worthwhile.

'_What's the game plan here J, have you got any news on Happy and Pepper for me?'_

'_Sir, they are currently residing with Colonel Rhodes, they appear to be safe.'_

Tony nodded to himself still tinkering with the helmet waiting for Jack to come back.

'_Good, keep me posted.'_

'_Sir, they are quite distressed, it really would be a good idea to contact them.'_

'_No can do, J, this whole mission, finding Bessler is riding on me, and being _dead_ is working in my favour.'_

'_Understood sir, I will continue to monitor them and report any changes.'_

Tony sighed in resignation, there was nothing more that he wanted to do than to find Pepper and tell her how sorry he was and hold her in his arms. He dropped his gaze down to the task at hand and picked up the face plate which was no longer connected.

'Let's get you sorted out.' He whispered to the Mark Forty Two looking down at the sad looking machine, he thought that if it had emotions it would surely be portraying them.

Shortly after Jack returned with a box full of Tony's required supplies.

'Mom made this; she said you need to eat.' He handed him a sandwich on a plate complete with fries and salad.

Tony nodded approvingly, 'thank you, did you bring the other stuff?'

Jack raised an eye brow, 'did I bring the other stuff?' He asked sarcastically, 'of course I did, what do you take me for?'

Tony grinned at Jack's apparent comfort around him now, 'well, sorry kid, just thought you might have forgotten while you were running around telling all your friends about Iron Man.'

Jack stole a fry from the plate and shook his head, 'no, mom said I'm not allowed to say anything to anyone until you say, and even then no one would believe me anyway.'

'Well, we're going to have to do something about that aren't we,' Tony looked down at the box of equipment Jack had brought in, 'thanks for this kid, we've got a lot of work to do.'

With that said Jack sat tentatively beside Tony and listened to his instructions careful to follow them precisely.

They worked together for hours making jokes and getting to know each other. Tony engrossed himself in his work talking to Jack about the suit and upgrades he wanted to make, never treating him like a kid which he noticed Jack appreciated. He made a mental note that this kid was alright and he would do whatever he could, after all this was done, to help him out.

He saw a lot of his own worries growing up, in this kid, his eyes told infinitely more than he let on and Tony knew exactly how that felt.

'So kid, tell me,' Tony said casually fiddling with a screw in the side of the gauntlet, 'do you tell your mom about the kid at school?'

'What kid at school?' Jack asked apprehensively.

Tony still kept his eyes on the gauntlet, 'the one who bully's you for being smarter than half the teachers at your school,' Tony answered matter-of-factly.

After a few moments of silence, he heard Jack sigh.

Tony's eyes remained on his task, giving Jack the privacy to answer whenever he was ready.

Much to Tony's relief he heard Jack sigh and then sit down beside him, 'no, she's busy with work, and she's got a lot going on, so I don't bother her with that.'

Tony nodded; there were definitely a lot of similarities between them.

'I'm sure she would like to know about these things.' He mused.

'Maybe, I guess,' Jack picked up a screw and twirled it between his thumb and forefinger, 'no point, I'll be finishing school soon and I won't have to see those kids again.'

Tony sighed and looked up at him, 'you shouldn't have to go through school like that, no one should, but you're right, as soon as you leave you'll do great things and you won't ever have to deal with them again.'

'Were _you_ bullied at school Tony?' Jack asked quietly looking at him.

Tony put the gauntlet down and leaned his elbow on the table, 'every day kid.'

'I don't believe that, you're _Tony Stark_.' Jack said quietly drawing a chuckle from Tony.

'Well, that's true, but, when I was your age, I had done what most adults couldn't do, and the other kids my age didn't find that cool or awesome, so they bullied me, beat me up and when my parents threatened legal action it only got it worse.' Tony offered a crooked smile.

Jack sat silently listening to him and absorbing every word.

'But you turned out pretty awesome and you're Iron Man now.' He added.

Tony grinned, 'all those things are true,' he nodded nonchalantly, 'but, my point is, that life wasn't easy growing up and when my parents died a lot more went on than anyone knew, only _I_ didn't have anyone to talk to, you do kid.'

Jack nodded, 'you think I should tell her?'

'I think you should tell someone.' Tony corrected.

'I'm telling _you_.' He said simply.

Tony was taken aback, he had no idea how he had given this kid the confidence to speak with him about anything more important than the task at hand, at the same time he was happy and proud of himself.

Immediately a pang of hurt shot through him as he thought about Pepper, she would be proud too. He _needed_ to sort this out and win so that their life would be safe.

'I'm happy that you can talk to me buddy, but I won't be around for long, so you should maybe talk to your mom too?' Tony offered.

'I know, I will, anyway she's too busy for that, she's got her work, something that's been stressing her out.' He picked up the other gauntlet and looked at it with curiosity.

Tony picked up the other one and looked back down at it, 'you'll be happy to know that I'm helping her with it, so hopefully you'll get your mom back soon.'

Jack perked up instantly with an ear to ear grin, 'really?'

'Really,' Tony smiled, 'so let us worry about _this_ problem and let _me _take care of the rest.'

Jack nodded eagerly, 'ok.'

Without another word Jack and Tony got back to work, all the while Pepper never left Tony's mind. There were so many things he needed to say and do to make it up to her for getting her into this situation. But for now, solving the riddle of his health and finding Bessler was the aim. And until he did these things, he would risk coming home, risk her life again. Whether it took him days, or years, he wouldn't be the reason she was in danger. He swore it.

* * *

**The next chapters have been written for months now, it's the lead up to them that's been hard for me, so it's all working out nicely so far. Thanks for reading :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**This chapter was actually quite difficult to write, and we have some of our favourite Avengers stopping by to say hello!**

* * *

Pepper stirred some time later as her eyes tried to adjust to the dark room, she squinted trying to make out her surroundings, once satisfied she was safe she eased herself up onto her elbows.

A throbbing headache slowly reared its head rendering her completely useless for the day; she dropped back against the pillow and pressed her palms to her forehead.

She closed her eyes trying to remember why she was feeling the way she was, she listed off what she _didn't _do, then tried to work out what she did.

She knew she didn't drink, Happy and Rhodey were drinking, she worked out that she didn't hurt herself, then she remembered the tea, she sighed, she recalled Tony mentioning some strong tea he used to drink when he was overworked in college, '_knocks you straight out'_, he used to say smiling the lopsided grin she loved so much.

Tears began to sting her eyes as she exhaled a shaky breath.

She finally forced herself to get up thanking whoever designed this building that they incorporated an en suite; she padded over to the bathroom and flicked the shower on. A quick glance at her watch showed it was close to four in the morning, the last time she showered at this time of the day was going back about eight or nine years ago, when her boss threw up all over her after another long night partying too hard. She shook her head at the memory then laughed at herself at all the random times which sprang to her mind. That same night she remembered that he was extremely sweet and apologetic about his behaviour and promised to change, she remembered rolling her eyes at the statement, but now, looking back, he did, he changed subtly, all those things he used to do, still continued to happen, but on a more toned down level. She remembered cradling him in her arms while he was sick and ranting on about the girls he spent the night with, all the Catherine or Mia what's her names…and about how no one knew the real him, and even though he was drunk and incoherent, Pepper knew this was the real him. His emotions were unmasked around her and she remembered the warm feeling which spread through her heart at his vulnerability and honesty.

She finally stepped into the shower immediately sinking down to the cold tiles which weren't warmed by the water yet. Tears spilled out of her eyes as every memory which washed over her was more painful than the one before.

Whatever she tried to do to make the pain lessen was met with a cruel mocking failure, her heart felt like it was getting ripped open every time it seemed she was getting better at this. Then she became angry, how could she ever get better at this, this wasn't something you _get over_, or move past, it was something which would haunt her for the rest of her life and she hated him for it.

How dare he leave her like this, how dare he think her life was more important than his, how dare he make that decision for her, he had no right.

Sobs and agonising cries wracked her body eliciting the most painful moans she'd ever let escape from her lips. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and tried to squeeze the pain away, pretend that it wasn't as bad as it was, but it didn't work.

Her tears washed away as the hot water caressed her cheeks, only when she realised that she was beginning to feel numbness did she realise it was time to get out.

Wrapping a towel around herself she stepped out and looked at her reflection in the mirror, the sickly pallor of her skin made her cringe inwardly, six days had gone by, each on becoming more and more difficult with no end in sight.

She sighed as she got dressed and made her way to the kitchen, what else could she do now, she couldn't sleep, she knew that much. She knew there was no way she could even entertain the idea of sleep, so she made herself a coffee and sat at the counter. Rhodey had found her blackberry amongst all the clothes she had thrown out and placed it on the bench along with some other items he had dug out of her pockets a set of keys and her pass to Stark industries.

She reached across the counter and pulled the phone to herself, the screen flashed on with reminders from her calendar.

_Tony Stark to attend press conference: twelve hours_

_Arc Reactor technology presentation: sixteen hours_

_Dinner with Tony: overdue twenty hours_

She cleared the reminders and flicked through the missed calls and messages, most of them were from various news columnists or magazine editors, some were from Rhodey and Happy, she guessed from when it happened, and then there were some she wasn't expecting, but they drew a smile from her lips. There were messages from Bruce and Steve, calls from Clint and Natasha, and several attempts from Director Fury.

She glanced at the time and decided that it was fine to try and call them back, after all, as CEO she was always up and taking calls any time after five, and being a Director of the world's most powerful agency, she thought Fury would be up too. She took a sip of coffee and began going through the list looking for his return number.

The phone rang less than two times before the familiar voice on the other end greeted her; Fury refused to speak about this matter in this fashion, so he offered to send someone to pick her up and come in to speak to The Avengers in person. As much as she enjoyed her silent reverie, she needed to get out into world and start speaking with people again.

She padded over to the living room and gently woke Rhodey up careful not to disturb Happy.

His shock at her sitting by his side jolted him awake, 'what's wrong, is everything ok?' He breathed quickly looking around for any sign of danger.

She put a hand gently on his shoulder, 'everything is fine, I came to tell you that Director Fury is sending someone over to pick me up, they want to discuss a few things,' she smiled gently ensuring Rhodey knew she was going of her own free will.

'Do you want me to come with you?' He asked sitting up.

Pepper shook her head, 'no, I think this is something I need to do on my own.'

Rhodey smiled, 'ok, let me know if you need anything, do you know how long you'll be gone?'

'No, I'll call you.' She offered.

'Ok, you'll do great.' He smiled pulling her into an embrace.

'Thanks, for everything Rhodey,' she whispered before pulling back, 'they're here, I'll see you soon.'

Rhodey walked her out to the door and made sure she was safe with the S.H.I.E.L.D agent, after checking and rechecking his identification more than four times. She wanted to roll her eyes, but she knew she would be doing the same. Tony always taught her that and Happy always reinforced it.

After finally getting into the car she pulled out her blackberry and began sifting through the hundreds of emails which had flooded her inbox over the last six days.

Several dozens of emails later, she dropped the phone into her bag and rubbed her eyes, it was nearly seven now and the sun had risen over the Los Angeles skyline. She allowed herself a moment of pure silence enjoying the rays on her face, and the serenity which came with it.

The peace was broken by the car coming to a halt, 'we're here ma'am.'

Pepper nodded as another agent came to her door and opened it helping her out.

'Director Fury is waiting in the office, ma'am.' The new agent informed her as he led her toward the highly secure facility.

She marvelled at the security procedures S.H.I.E.L.D had in place, and she recognised most of these features as Tony's personal upgrades. She smiled to herself, as much as he liked to say he didn't like playing with these boys, he did so much to help them without even being asked.

The agent stopped at the end of the winding corridor which they walked through and nodded to the door leading to the office.

'Thank you.' Pepper nodded courteously.

She pushed the door open and spotted Fury talking to a group of young agents, they stood around him taking down notes and orders, as she approached they stopped talking.

'That will be all, we'll reconvene at seventeen hundred hours.' Fury nodded to the agents.

They saluted him before moving away from Pepper, she couldn't be sure, but she sensed a hint of awkwardness toward her, 'thank you for seeing me,' she held her hand out shrugging away the feelings.

'Thank _you_ for coming in,' he led her to a seat by the windows, 'come, sit.'

She looked around at the office, she thought about how Tony described the helicarrier and she imagined it would look a lot like this.

The prompt mannerisms of all the agents had a familiar air about them, it reminded her so much of Phil, he was there so many times to help Tony when no one else would. A pang of hurt shot through her. Tony helped these people so many times too, and now they were both gone, good, caring men, gone.

She fought against the tears and pushed them back, she would not let them out here, not like this.

Fury sat down and Pepper followed suit folding her hands neatly in her lap, 'this shouldn't have happened,' she said simply.

Fury nodded, 'I'm so sorry.'

'I, I don't know what to do,' she looked at him pleadingly, 'I don't even know where to start.'

Fury looked intently at the woman and then outside the window, 'the reason I called you here is because I need you to shed some light for me.'

'On what?'

'His armour advancements.' Fury explained.

Pepper looked down at her hands, 'he's been dead for six days and you're calling me for his designs?'

Before she knew it she felt the heat rising to her cheeks and she was getting to her feet.

Fury got up to stop her, 'please, you misunderstand me,' he gestured for her to sit, 'please.'

Pepper sucked in a deep breath and sat down.

Fury brought up a video and turned the screen toward Pepper, 'this is footage from the attack, this is what was broadcast on the news.'

Pepper swallowed the lump in her throat as the video began to play and she watched the devastation as if it were happening to someone else.

Just as she remembered; she was thrown outside and the armour began to unravel itself from her body she watched on as the final missile hit the already crumbling structure and braced herself as it went plummeting into the sea below.

She looked up at Fury not sure what this was meant to achieve.

'The armour, in the video, what is it?' He asked patiently.

Pepper cleared her throat, 'something new he was working on, I think it was just a prototype non weaponised.'

'We didn't know anything about it,' he mused, 'usually Stark came to us with ideas.'

Pepper nodded, 'this was new, he only made it a few days before…'

'Thank you.' Fury managed, 'I'm sorry, he was a really good man.'

'Yeah, he was.' Pepper agreed getting to her feet quickly wiping a stray tear as it rolled down her cheek, 'I promised Bruce I'd see him, is he around?'

Fury nodded solemnly, 'he's been waiting for you, Agent Hill will show you to his room.'

Pepper shook his hand and followed Hill silently, neither woman spoke and Pepper was extremely grateful, she was not one for small talk and being here for the reason that she was, she definitely didn't feel the need for it.

Agent Hill stopped at an elevator and pushed the button to go down.

'Bruce works in the lab downstairs, he hasn't left for days, so having a visitor will be good for him.' Hill explained.

The doors opened and they both stepped inside, Pepper looking down at her feet, 'did Tony work down there too?'

She needed to know and she needed to prepare herself for an onslaught of familiarities which would no doubt shatter any composure she had managed to build.

The doors opened on the lower floor and Hill sighed, 'he did, Bruce didn't let us touch any of his things, so there are boxes if you'd like to collect anything.'

Pepper nodded in acknowledgement, 'thank you.'

Hill smiled weakly, 'I'm sorry.'

'Thank you.' Pepper added before stepping out of the elevator and leaving Hill, she was getting increasingly irritated with all the apologies.

She took a deep breath and slowly made her way to the double doors where she knew her wall would come crumbling down around her, she tapped on the frosted glass and noticed a figure of a man walking over to the door.

The frosting on the glass dissipated and the doors opened revealing a very tired looking Bruce.

'You came.' He managed simply.

Pepper nodded and followed him inside as the doors closed behind them.

She looked around spotting all the obviously Tony things; the band shirt folded over the back of a chair, the many StarkTech tablets and laptops, tools which she noticed had grease marks on them and in the farthest corner, on a little table beside a computer was a framed photograph from a function she had attended with Tony, so long ago.

She felt the sting of oncoming tears before pushing them back and drawing her eyes away from the photo.

'Please, sit.' Bruce pushed out a chair for hair and awkwardly cleared the clutter from the desk in front of her, 'coffee?'

'Please.' She smiled weakly.

She watched as he walked over to the coffee machine in the corner and waited for the coffee to make itself, she let out a sigh thinking about how much he and Tony needed each other. His awkward personality was not one which meshed well with many people, and his _other_ personality was somewhat of a conversation stopper, but not for Tony, he was his friend above anything else and he did anything to stick up for him.

Bruce finally came back and held out a mug to Pepper.

'Do you think he's dead?' Bruce asked abruptly.

Pepper looked at him, considering the reasoning behind his question, 'I don't want to believe it.'

He simply nodded, 'I don't think he is.'

'Why?' Pepper took a sip and looked at him intently.

'The armour he was working on, when he got you out he called it back right?' He spoke quickly bringing up the news footage Fury had shown her earlier, 'see this, here,' he pointed to the image of the armour leaving her body, 'it's going back into the house, so he was still alive at this point, what's to say he didn't get out, that the armour didn't save him?' He stopped to rewind the image again, 'what if he's out there, hurt and we're not looking for him?'

Pepper bowed her head, she knew denial when she saw it and this was the ultimate definition if ever there was one. She felt her own heart constricting trying to push away the small slivers of hope which tried to weave their way through her body with every word that came out of his mouth.

'If you look here, there's a window where the camera doesn't quite capture the entire frame, what if he got out somehow?' He continued.

Her breath caught in her chest while she tried to slow her breathing down clutching at her chest.

She pressed a cold palm to her forehead focussing heavily on her breathing while Bruce continued on and on about the possibilities that Tony survived.

'Stop, please,' she felt her tears pouring out of her eyes as uncontrollable shallow breaths threatened to suffocate her, 'stop…'she managed.

She didn't even notice the door had opened until she felt a firm arm around her shoulder pulling her away from Bruce.

'Stop!' Steve yelled as he pushed Pepper behind him, 'Bruce, you're out of line, this is completely inappropriate.'

'Oh god,' Pepper sobbed into her hands, 'It's ok, Steve, really, I'm ok.'

Steve turned to look at her, his face showed anger she had never thought possible for Captain America, 'it's not alright,' he said firmly turning back to Bruce, 'you're out of line Doctor, whatever you're doing down here keep it to yourself.'

Pepper finally slowed her breathing down enough to avoid a full anxiety attack, 'please, Steve, it's ok, he's just, he's just upset, we all are.'

Steve turned to face her and gently showed her to the door, 'I know, but this is not what you need, I'm sorry you had to see that.'

'It's alright, can we please get some air?' She whispered.

Steve nodded and led her down the hallway and into the elevator, 'we'll go to the top floor,' he pushed the button and they rode in silence.

Once they arrived at their destination Steve stood back while Pepper exited the elevator, 'I bet Tony used to come out here all the time…' she murmured.

Steve stepped around her and looked over the skyline, 'he did, said you could see Stark Tower if you squint real hard.'

Pepper laughed, 'yeah, the size of his ego, I wouldn't be surprised if he had built something that large.'

Steve nodded with a smile before looking down at his hands, 'I'm really sorry Pepper, this isn't something that should ever happen to someone,' he paused regaining his composure and looking up at her, 'when I was back, in my time, I lost so many good men who had families back home waiting for them and the pain that comes with telling someone they're loved one isn't coming home, it isn't something you get used to,' he looked around at their surroundings taking everything in, 'Tony was a friend to me, even if we didn't see eye to eye most days, but when it came to the team…he did _everything_ in his power to help, and do what's right…' he turned from her and she noticed the tense posture of his shoulders, 'what they did to him, it isn't right, he was a hero, and that was a cowardly attack.'

Pepper swallowed hard, 'what do I do now?'

Her words came out in barely a whisper, she had no idea how he heard her as a breeze whisked past her and silenced her. She wrapped her arms around herself shivering as the cold went through her body.

She had made it to the seventh day…she had no idea how the lifetime ahead of her would go.

'You live, you remember him and how much you loved him, that's all any of us can do.' Steve murmured looking to Pepper.

She nodded exhaling a shaky breath, 'I don't think I can do this.'

Steve stepped closer and shielded her from the wind, 'you can, we're here, all of us.'

She shook her head letting the tears fall and crash to the ground below, 'I can't, not this, the company or coping, this is not how it was meant to be.'

Steve wrapped his arm around her shoulder, 'you're not alone, just remember that, we can all help you with everything.'

'It's not fair, we didn't have enough time,' she sobbed into her hands feeling her legs weakening beneath her and she relied solely on Steve to stop her from dropping to her knees.

He instinctively wrapped both arms around her and held her up against him while she cried, eventually the weakness in her legs caused them both to drop to their knees, he still held her against him shielding her from the cruelness of the world and icy cold wind.

They sat unmoving for a long time before the elevator door opened and Clint and Natasha both came to kneel beside them.

'Hey, let's get you inside, it's freezing.' Natasha gently pulled Peppers arm away from Steve and helped her to her feet.

Steve looked down as his own cheeks were stained with tears.

Pepper walked quietly, still sobbing as Natasha led her into the elevator, much to her relief Steve and Clint stayed on the roof.

Tony would probably disown her for letting the Captain hug her; he would have made some smug remark or joke, even though they both secretly knew how much Tony respected him.

Natasha led her to her own quarters and sat her down in the cot, 'have this,' she handed her a glass of scotch.

Pepper shook her head to which Natasha took as an opportunity to force it into her hand, 'trust me, you'll feel better,' once she was satisfied Pepper was content she poured herself a glass and sat down on a chair in front of her, 'he didn't deserve this, they were cowards and we will find them, I promise you that.'

'I know you will.' Pepper murmured taking a sip of the scotch; she welcomed the burn and the warmth which spread through her body. She realised then how Tony found comfort in the darkest hours.

'I can't begin to imagine how you're feeling, but I can tell you I've been through loss, and what they say about it getting easier, it's not true,' she spoke in a cold, merciless tone, 'the darkness doesn't become lighter and the weight doesn't lessen, but what does happen, is understanding and acceptance, then the rage sets in, and that's where you have to be careful,' she looked at Pepper intently, 'you have to make sure the rage doesn't consume you because then you've lost yourself and you've lost his memory.'

Pepper considered her words, 'you're right, because all I can think about is rage and hate toward them, and I've never felt anything like this before, and it's terrifying.'

Natasha nodded, 'it is, and it's only going to get worse, but I'm here and I won't let you become like me.'

That statement made Pepper respect this woman much more than she had ever given her credit for, she remembered feeling betrayed at 'Natalie's' deception, and she found it difficult accepting that Natasha was going to be a part of their lives, and a huge part in Tony's as an Avenger.

Now she was grateful, Natasha was one of the only people she felt close to, someone who despite her differences with Tony, was the most similar to him and the one who understood without Pepper having to say a word and that was something she found more important than she could even express. They drank in silence, each for their own reasons. Pepper for her loss and Natasha for her failure to protect one of her own.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

**So here we are, yet again, thank you for all the wonderful reviews and PMs…as always I love hearing from you, I hope you find this chapter interesting!**

* * *

Tony finalised the last calibration to the suit and sat back to admire his work. He'd been called the Da Vinci of his time and he'd proven many times to himself and the world that he could do almost anything he put his mind to and this was yet again another testament to that.

'Is it finished, will it work?' Jack asked eagerly looking at the armour before him.

Tony nodded folding his arms across his chest, 'it should, let's test it.'

'_J, start-up process please.'_

'_Very well sir.'_

Tony held his hand out and watched in anticipation as the repulsors began to power up and hover above the desk, with a final mental push he called over the armour and it began assembling itself around him and the face plate locked into place last.

Jacks eyes were wide with awe, 'that is the coolest thing I've ever seen!'

'It's pretty cool,' Tony laughed as the face plate closed, 'and now we know it works.'

'Does this mean you're leaving now?' Jack asked quietly, the excited look on his face was replaced with what Tony could only describe as disappointment.

He ordered the armour to disassemble itself and looked at Jack, 'I'm still going to help your mom with her work, but then I have to go, yes.'

Jack hung his shoulders and dropped into his chair, 'everyone leaves us.'

Tony let a sigh escape his lips as he dropped into the chair beside him; he scratched his head and gathered his thoughts, 'you know that this wasn't a long term thing buddy.'

Jack shrugged, 'I know, but I guess I hoped it would be…' he trailed off.

'I have to get back to Malibu and find the people that did this,' Tony would have laughed at the absurdity of justifying his actions to _anyone _much less a kid, but he didn't, instead he felt he felt he owed him an explanation, 'they tried to kill me, fine, but they tried to kill the woman I love, that's not something I can stand for, I can't sit back and forget that, you understand?'

Jack nodded silently with a pout.

Tony rolled his eyes, 'someday you'll feel that way about someone, kid, trust me I never thought _I_ would be that guy, but here I am.' He looked at him intently searching for any sign that he understood.

Jack nodded again, 'but you'll help my mom before you go, right?'

'I said I would, and then, once this is all finished I'll help you out at school,' Tony held his hand out, 'deal?'

'Deal.' Jack nodded finally allowing a smile to spread across his face.

'Now, I need your laptop, bring it to me.' Tony waved Jack away.

'Ok, ok.' Jack muttered.

As soon as he left, Tony smiled to himself and allowed a moment to check in with Jarvis, _'J, how's Pepper?'_

'_Sir, she is currently with the Avengers.'_

Tony raised an eyebrow, _'The super-secret boy band, really?'_

'_Yes sir, she's been there for the better part of this morning.'_

'_Is she ok?'_

'_She is rather upset but Agent Romanov is currently with her.'_

Tony nodded, _'good, keep me posted.'_

He knew that Pepper would lose her mind if she knew he had placed trackers in her watch, she never took it off so he knew it would be the best hope of keeping her safe. As much as she would complain about privacy _he_ didn't mind getting the brunt of it because he knew he that he could find her should anything go wrong, and at the same time he could keep his cool knowing that she was safe thus allowing him to focus his energy on the task at hand.

Jack came through the door and Tony quickly sat up, he replaced all of Jack's tools in the basket and took the laptop from him, 'thanks kid, can you tell your mom I'd like to have a chat with her again when she's ready?'

Jack nodded, 'sure, you'll say bye before you leave right?'

'I will, don't worry, I'll catch up with you later.' Tony clapped Jack's shoulder before clearing everything from the table and opening the laptop.

He worked for hours before he finally closed the laptop with a sigh and a drawn out stretch, he looked over the progress he had made and ensured Jarvis had made notes of everything he had worked on.

Of course he had left out several key components needed to finalise the formula, her idea was good natured, but the potential to do damage far outweighed the positive aspects.

He closed his eyes and bowed his head resting it in his hands, his mind wandered and came upon Pepper again.

'_J, let me hear her voice.'_

Fury had always suspected Tony had set up well placed microphones throughout the Avengers headquarters, but surprisingly never pushed the matter. After everything that happened to him Fury gave him the benefit of the doubt that whatever he was doing was for the greater good. So Tony did exactly what he was suspected of doing.

'_Yes sir.'_

Jarvis began the live feed.

"_**I miss him so much, how can I ever learn to live like this? I can't Natasha, at all; I can't even begin to imagine how this could ever be ok."**_

"_**It won't be ok, and it'll only get harder, but you know that we won't let you fall, or lose yourself, **_**I**_** won't let that happen."**_Natasha spoke quietly matching Pepper's tone.

A sigh broke the silence which lingered for a long time and then Pepper finally spoke again.

"_**He's gone, and the last thing I told him was that his **_**obsession **_**was out of control,"**_he heard her laugh, that same sarcastic laugh which she reserved for him, when he did something so irrationally insane, _**"his **_**obsession**_** saved my life, he died to protect me and I'll never forgive myself for that."**_

'_End feed,' _Tony pinched the bridge of his nose sighing heavily, _'J, what should I do?'_ Tony begged for the answers to come to him, he was so completely lost and for once he didn't know what to do.

'_Sir, I believe you were planning to keep your distance, this is still a good plan.'_

'_Is it J?' _He sighed,_ 'I don't know, it doesn't feel right.'_

'_It's not easy sir, but you're protecting Miss Potts by keeping your distance, you are doing the right thing.'_

'_I hope so.' _Tony felt his chest tighten, '_are they looking after her?'_

'_Yes sir; and Doctor Banner is still looking for you.' _

Tony shook his head, _'_he'll_ find me, keep him off my scent, we can't risk _anyone_ knowing.'_

'_Yes sir, I will leave a false trail.'_

'_Good work.'_

Tony got up and collected his things determined to make things right one way or another.

* * *

Natasha closed the door behind her leaving Pepper to her own thoughts and another glass of scotch hoping that she would eventually fall asleep. She was trained in many things, but being a confidant to an emotional woman who had lost the love of her life was not one of those things. She found it difficult, to say the least, and highly uncomfortable when she knew that she was responsible for Bessler being alive. She was sure she didn't miss; S.H.I.E.L.D took him away which raised even more questions which she had no answers to. She ran her hands through her hair, there was no way she missed.

She continued silently down the hall searching for Bruce; she had so much she needed to discuss with him most of all what he was up to. Steve was beyond words, which is something she rarely saw, so _he_ offered her nothing of use.

As she walked down the halls she spotted the Captain sitting silently by the window farthest away from the door.

She paused in the hallway deliberating what to do finally deciding on actually speaking to him, 'hey Cap, how you doing?'

He turned to look at her offering a weak smile, 'I don't know,' he sighed looking down at his hands, 'how are you?'

She shrugged and pulled up a chair sitting down beside him, she sighed looking around at the office, 'I feel guilty.'

Steve turned to look at her, 'so do I.'

'But,' she began, 'it's not about _us_, Pepper needs us, we should focus on that now,' Natasha said firmly before getting up and folding her arms across her chest, 'we need to make sure we do whatever we can to keep her safe, we owe him that.'

Steve nodded dropping his head into his hands, 'this shouldn't have happened.'

'No, it shouldn't have.' Natasha murmured swallowing the lump in her throat.

Her eyes flicked down to her feet, guilt had riddled her since Tony had shown her who was responsible for shooting down their jet. Memories of the accident flooded her mind; _his vulnerability and the pain which flashed across his features as the icy wind ripped through his exposed body, he had wrapped his clothes around her to keep her warm, the soldier in her knew this was the logical thing to do, she was smaller and more exposed but she couldn't shake the feeling of overwhelming guilt which riddled her. She watched as the Extremis attacked him and weakened him watching the light fading from his eyes as he held on until he could tell her they were saved, his body became limp in her arms as she waved down the rescue team and watched through teary eyes as the Captain ran through the blizzard with a team of soldiers right behind him, Tony's arc a guiding beacon, she watched as Steve and another soldier carried Tony to the waiting helicopter as another helped her to her feet, the guiding beacon was fading, she squeezed her eyes shut willing the pain to subside, willing to know that he was going to make it, he had to._

Her thoughts snapped back to the present as she listened to Steve rambling on about the direness of their situation.

'Bruce isn't coping, he's going off on a Tangent saying Tony's alive and Thor doesn't know...you and Clint have this, this uncanny ability to carry the weight of the world unflinchingly and I have no idea what I'm doing, or what I'm meant to do?' He looked at her pleadingly, 'I'm your Captain and _I'm_ lost, I don't…I've never lost someone like this, this attack, this was different.'

Natasha nodded, 'I know,' she sighed, 'it's different when it's off the field, but the game is the same, he's gone and it's up to you to lead, that's why you're here Cap, the Director thinks you can do it so show him that you can.'

'Can I?' Steve managed.

Natasha clapped him on the back and offered a disconcerting glance, 'sure.'

He replied with a weak smile.

'I'll catch you later Cap.'

She closed the door and leaned heavily against it, as "unflinchingly" as she took everything in her stride she wasn't ok, not in the slightest. She and Tony had their issues and almost all of the time didn't see eye to eye, but she respected him and what he did for the team, Pepper was a friend and this whole situation was out of her control. She pushed away from the door with a heavy sigh and continued down to the lower floors.

She came to a stop before Bruce's lab; cautiously she knocked on the door and waited. Historically between them there was so much tension you could hack at it with a butcher knife and still have some left over to play with. There was no telling how this had impacted the doctor or his less than happy counterpart.

Much to her relief a few minutes later a very rugged and tired looking man stood before her leaning heavily against the glass door, 'agent Romanov.'

She looked him over as discreetly as possible though she couldn't fail to notice the off color of his pallid complexion, or the harsh smell of chemicals which surrounded him in a mass of color which stained his fingers, unwillingly she looked at him with pity, 'can I come in?'

He shrugged and stepped back, 'sure, grab a seat,' he waved around the lab.

The mess which surrounded the usually pristine lab was hard to digest and she was frightened by the speed at which this man had unravelled at the seams, not only was his appearance haggard but his whole existence had become strained and threatened to simply cease.

She looked around picking things up and replacing them and silently running her hands along Tony's belongings and possessions feeling more and more guilt weaving its way around her body, she sucked in a deep breath and turned to look at Bruce, 'you think he's alive,' it was more of a statement to appease her mind than a question to the man who looked as though he was ready to break.

Bruce nodded, 'I do.'

Natasha studied him, 'how?'

Bruce cleared his throat, 'the footage of the attack doesn't show it in full frame and the armour he was using is a prototype so it wouldn't have had the usual repulsor signature, I think, making it harder to track,' he turned the monitor to face Natasha and he pointed to the final moments as the house went crashing into the sea, 'the armour would have gotten him out, see here, this, this has to be something right?'

Natasha took a seat and pulled up the feed again and watched it several times, slowed it down and sped it up, zoomed in then out finally switching it to infrared, 'I know this armour,' she considered the images before her.

She scratched her head and swiftly got to her feet and hurried over to Tony's desk, she rummaged through several files and brought back an unmarked folder, she held it out to Bruce, 'I've seen this armour before, he had the designs up a few months ago, he hadn't started on it at that point,' she gestured to the sketches in the folder and froze the image on the screen bringing them up side by side, 'this is it, it's fully piloted, Jarvis runs everything and it's designed for rescue ops, basically the same way he saved Pepper.' She explained to him without taking her eyes off the screen letting a small, satisfied smirk cross her features.

'So he could have gotten out?' Bruce asked looking over all the evidence before him, 'how could I have missed this?'

Natasha pursed her lips and focussed on the image before her, she quickly began typing trying to ignore Bruce who was still mulling over the situation verbally, 'the repulsor signatures _are_ different, look at this,' she brought up footage from the Ivan Vanko drone attack and the infrared imaging of the attack on Tony's mansion showing the images side by side, 'this is it, it's him,' she said quietly leaning back in the chair.

'He's alive.' Bruce murmured.

She nodded, 'We have to find him.'

Bruce smiled, 'thank you.'

'Get everything together, whatever you've got and meet me at the location tonight, midnight.'

Bruce nodded, 'just us?'

'For now.'

'I'll see you then.' Bruce turned back to his work and Natasha left him in silence once again, this time with a hint of a smile.

Natasha walked through the hallways hurriedly, hoping to avoid anyone who would hit her with a line of questioning; any other time it was a game for her just something to pass the time, but today was not one of those days. She needed to get to the hangar and gather her things; there was no time to play cloak and dagger.

As she hurried past her room a soft voice calling for her caught her attention.

She stopped abruptly and turned on her heel, 'Pepper?' She looked back toward the room, 'what are you doing up, it's late.'

Pepper shrugged, 'I was going to head back, spend some time with Happy, is there anyone who can give me a ride?'

Natasha nodded, 'sure, I'll arrange for one of the Agents to take you, I'll inform Director Fury, come with me.'

Pepper quickly gathered her already packed things and followed Natasha staying close on the assassin's heel.

'Where are you heading?' Pepper asked curiously.

Natasha kept her speed up and turned her head slightly to answer her, 'heading out to do some surveillance, they'll be targeting you now.'

'Of course.' Pepper nodded solemnly.

Natasha swallowed the nagging urge to run down the hall and palm Pepper off to someone else, knowing that Tony got out of the house and was probably alive at this point made her anxious to throw everything down and leave to find him, alleviating some of her own guilt, selfishly so, but she didn't care, she had a chance to make things right and she couldn't pass that up.

Once they reached Fury's office she knocked the door a few times before pushing it open; 'sir, Miss Potts would like an escort to Colonel Rhodes apartment.'

Fury stood up from his desk and nodded at Pepper, 'of course, that can be arranged, I'll escort you.'

Natasha bowed her head knowingly before stepping back, 'heading out to run surveillance, sir.'

Fury nodded.

She closed the door and continued on her path, as she walked and walked the only thoughts crossing her mind began to irritate her, the annoying inner voice of reason which so often placed her at cross roads, "_call Clint", "tell someone", "you'll need another set of eyes", "someone else who can back you up, Banner's great, but you'll need someone more specialised"._

Once she reached the hangar she pushed the door open impatiently and walked over to the Quinjet and looked up at the marvel before her, just like Tony, she felt alive in the air soaring through the sky being above the world and away from it all. And just like Tony she hated being out of control of the situation figuratively or physically.

She turned to the wall and slammed her palm against it, 'damn it,' she muttered with a heavy sigh.

The voice of reasoning finally won and she pulled out her phone and called the only person she knew she needed to call, 'meet me in the hangar, now.'

Clint appeared almost five minutes later with the same suspicious look he always donned around her, 'what's going on?'

'Wheels up in five,' she said coolly and motioned for him to board the jet, once seated she called for clearance to take off and within minutes they were soaring through the sky, once they were at cruising altitude she set the coordinates for Malibu.

Clint, as her co-pilot double checked her coordinates and confirmed them with ground control, 'and what, exactly is in Malibu?' He asked as he flicked the switches above them

Natasha remained silent until she switched the gears into auto-pilot and leaned forward to switch off all com channels, she finally turned to him, 'Stark's alive; Banner is meeting us.'

Clint's mouth opened and closed in stunned silence, 'does anyone else know?' He finally managed.

Natasha turned back to the control panel and shook her head, 'only us, I needed to be sure before we bring anyone else in.'

'Ah, the Captain will be pissed.' Clint mused looking over the coordinates again and recalibrating them for Stark's old mansion.

'Yeah, probably.' Natasha agreed with a nod checking over the coordinates again.

Clint rubbed his head, 'oh man, how did this happen?'

'I think he meant for this, for us not to find him.' She offered, 'he's gone to a lot of trouble to stay silent.'

'Keep in the dark, keep safe.' Clint murmured eliciting a nod of agreement from Natasha.

'Pepper would be a target now that's he's out of the picture, Bessler is going to go after her.' Natasha said firmly.

Clint shook his head, 'where is she now?'

'She's with Fury, they're taking her to Rhodey's house.' She explained.

Clint sighed running his hand through his hair, 'how is he even alive?'

'I have no idea, your guess is as good as mine Clint,' she looked at him sideways.

She _did_ shoot him, she's never missed a target in all her years of training and espionage and she'd never missed a vital organ without meaning for it. Her anger for Tony's "death" was only half of the issue, the other was pride.

Clint cleared his throat, 'Extremis, like Bruce said?'

Natasha shrugged, 'looks that way.'

'This is bad.' Clint said simply.

'Really bad.'

'If he's jacked up, _we_ stand no chance; you saw what happened to Tony when he went up against one of those things.' Clint looked at her intently.

'It won't get to that, we find him and bring him home, that's all.'

'That's all?' Clint let out a sarcastic laugh, 'you're kidding right?'

She only looked at him before turning back, 'we have to.'

'Nothing is ever in and out with us or with Stark for that matter.' Clint berated her.

'Look,' she began with a deep breath, 'I brought you in because I wanted your help, if you're going to be whining all day, I'll take you home and you can go and shoot targets.'

Clint smirked, 'I'm not going anywhere.'

Natasha glared at him, his ever present smile and humour never failed to draw a smile, even the smallest hint of one, 'good,' she hissed trying to maintain her level of seriousness.

He saw right through it and it only made her want to punch him.

'Cheer up, kid, he's alive, you've got nothing to be mopey about now.' He grinned.

She swallowed hard and turned to him with a grin, 'I'm going to eject you from this jet, Barton, seriously.'

He laid his hand across his chest, crossing his heart, 'that hurts, deeply.'

'It hurts much less than hitting the ground at a hundred and twenty five miles an hour, I assure you.' She smiled sweetly.

Clint cocked an eye brow and turned back to the console, 'touché.'

Natasha looked straight ahead with a slight smile, he was right, Tony was alive and she should have been happy, nothing to feel guilty about anymore. Yet she did, she felt a heavy weight still pressing down on her, she shrugged it off as a compulsive behaviour which plagued her, her whole life.

'ETA?' Clint asked with the same smirk still present on his features.

Natasha glanced down at her watch trying to ignore his smile, 'seven minutes.'

Seven minutes until they reached ground zero, a war site, a bloody reminder of how quickly a life could be snuffed out. Seven minutes until she faced the cold hard truth.

She squeezed her hands around the control stick and paced herself, this was something which she needed to take control over and she would be the one to finish it. If Bessler was alive because of her, the she would make damn sure he would be ended by her.

* * *

**I'm really looking forward to seeing what you think of this, and where it's going. Sorry for the delay between posts, I know I personally love having longer chapters to read when I'm waiting for something than quicker posts but not so much to read! **

**So I hope you're all still on board with me and please, as always like so many of you do, don't hesitate to PM me or leave some feedback about what you think about the direction of this story, or the charecterization. **

**I'm always up for chopping and changing what I can to make you happy, although, I am aware it's not possible to make everyone happy, but I aim to at least try :)**

**xxx See you soon xxx**

**SV**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you for your reviews, as always keep em' coming!**

* * *

Tony bowed his head resting it in his hands; he had made it through most of the week without a break down or any form of Extremis related problems.

Today was going to be different and he could feel it. The familiar darkness creeping in around the edges of his vision became thicker and denser causing his shallow breathing to intensify.

The wound in his side was healing much quicker than anticipated thanks to the virus itself, at least he wasn't going to die of a blood infection, the virus would take care of that too.

Katarina still stopped in every half an hour or so checking in on him as his condition seemed to worsen, finally she stayed and didn't leave his side save for the times she needed to refill the bowl of water beside her or retrieve new bandages.

'You're burning up,' she muttered heavily, patting his forehead with a damp cloth, 'we have to get the fever down.'

Tony tried to shake his head and tell her he was going to be ok and that this was normal, at least it was normal to him.

'The wound is fine and there's no infection…'she trailed off checking his pupil dilation with a small light, 'what am I missing?'

Tony turned his head away from her and squeezed his eyes shut; there was nothing he could tell her without raising suspicion about his condition and what was causing the fever.

She ran her hand down along his cheek and then to the nape of his neck, 'this is bad Tony, if I can't contain the fever, well… I don't have to tell _you_ what will happen.'

He cracked his eyes open as much as he could, 'it's not that….I'm, it's fine.'

She took his hand into hers and pressed her fingers to his wrist.

Through the haze in his head he could still hear every sound though his mind had trouble processing coherent thoughts.

'The fever is increasing drastically,' She said firmly, 'and your heart is racing.'

He tried to turn from her only making the pain in his head worse than before, the pounding was almost to the point of rendering him unconscious but he held on listening to her voice trying to remain calm, remain sane, slow his heart down.

Breathe Stark…in then out….

'Jack, honey please get me another bowl of water, and the ice chips I left in the freezer,' he heard her say; this time she didn't leave his side and he found some comfort in this notion.

'Is he going to be ok?' Jacks worried voice sounded miles away.

'He'll be fine sweetheart, bring me the water please.' She asked again.

Tony found himself drifting in and out finding it extremely difficult to stay conscious, he squeezed his eyes shut trying to push away the haze which was rapidly forming, his vision was completely dark now and the thudding in his head had now become a continuous hum.

'Stay we me Tony, keep focussing on my voice, you can't let yourself fall asleep, can you hear me?' She squeezed his hand, 'stay awake.'

He cracked his eyes open as the light tried to break through the blanket of darkness, 'can't, see, can't see anything,' he murmured swallowing hard.

'I know,' she touched his forehead, 'it's the fever just listen to me and stay awake,' she placed another damp, cold cloth on his forehead dabbing it around his cheeks and neck.

This was far worse than any of the previous times the Extremis had made him sick, not only was his mind getting lost in the darkness his body was following it.

Just like she said, he kept his eyes open, thousands of dots littered the darkness as endless streams of information, codes anything and everything connected to grid flashed before his eyes. He forced his mind to try and push through to no avail. He was drowning and suffocating in the matrix, unable to focus unable to clear his mind and see through the blackness.

He thrashed against her hands holding him down, 'it's alright, listen to me, you're going to be fine, Tony you need to calm down.'

Her voice was miles away, he tried to focus but he couldn't see her or an exit to his freedom.

The information flowed and flowed around him, voices, hundreds and thousands of voices talking screaming yelling into his mind, _stop, stop please…_

'The fever is making you hallucinate Tony, stay with me and listen to my voice.'

The voices flooded him, closing in around him chanting amongst the dotted lights which swirled around him in a frightening kaleidoscope of color.

'_Sir, Miss Potts has been taken, you must focus, you have to wake up, you have to find her.'_

'_What! No!' _

'_Sir, focus, you need to wake up.'_

'Tony!' Katarina shook his shoulders, 'wake up, you're having a nightmare, it's the fever, Tony!'

Tony's eyes shot open followed instantly by his body, heavy panting wracked him as he looked around in confusion, 'I need to go, I need to, I have to, oh god, I need to get out of here.'

Katarina's eyes were wide with confusion still trying to push him down as he struggled against her, 'stop, Tony, you're going to tear your stiches.'

He pushed her hands away finally breaking free and scrambling off the couch, 'no, I have to go, _now.'_

'You can't go anywhere, look at you, you're bleeding all over the floor.' She rushed over to him as the world began to sway around him.

The rush of blood to his head brought on a violent attack of nausea and he felt his knees weaken, 'oh god,' he clasped his hands across his face pressing his palms against his forehead as his legs gave way, Katarina was by his side in an instant helping him down onto the couch.

Tony squeezed his eyes shut leaning against the head rest, 'I have to go, they have her, I have to go.'

Katarina pressed her hand to his cheek again, 'the fever is still high and you've torn the stiches, stay there while I clean you up.'

Tony cracked his eyes open to look down at the wound confirming Katarina's statement, the blood had soaked through his shirt and onto the couch; he caught his breath trying to work out what happened.

Katarina was by his side a few minutes later with new bandages and a bowl of water, Jack stayed behind her watching on with a fearful expression.

She met Tony's eyes and offered a comforting smile, 'the wound is fine, it looks like a lot of blood but it's just superficial, you're lucky, it seems to have healed a lot quicker than it would normally take for a puncture of that calibre,' she pressed the wet cloth against his abdomen cleaning away the blood eliciting a sharp hiss of pain from Tony, 'sorry, you were out for a good few hours before you woke up.'

'Hours?' Tony managed breathlessly.

She nodded, 'fever induced hallucinations are incredibly vivid, you seemed to be quite distressed, but waking you was not safe, not until you were ready to wake up.'

Tony closed his eyes weakly, _'J, please tell me Pepper's safe.'_

'_I'm sorry sir; she was taken from the S.H.I.E.L.D escort approximately two hours ago.'_

'_Bessler?'_

'_Yes sir, I am sorry, I tried to wake you earlier.'_

Tony pressed his palms to his face trying to stop the tears which began to form instantly.

'Are you ok?' Katarina's distant voice drew him back to the present, 'Tony?'

He wiped the stray tears as they escaped and looked at her, 'no, I have to go now,' he dragged himself to the edge of the couch and gathered his strength.

'Not a chance, look at you, seriously, you're going to make it, what, two, three miles before you pass out and die in the snow?' She looked at him sternly with Jack by her side.

'Why don't you call the Avengers to help you?' Jack interjected.

Tony looked up at him with a thoughtful expression giving Jack the confidence to step forward.

'If they've got her, call them to help you?' He whispered.

Katarina looked at her son and then back at Tony, 'they've got Miss Potts?'

Tony swallowed the lump in his throat; 'I thought staying away from her would keep her safe…' he trailed off dropping his gaze to the floor, 'I have to get her back.'

Despite the hesitation from Katarina she finally helped him to his feet and to his armour, jack stood by watching as the Iron Man armour assembled around Tony leaving only the faceplate open.

He stepped forward hiding the pain from them as best as he could, he slowed his breathing down hoping that his voice wouldn't shake and give him away, he reached out and retrieved the laptop from the table and held it out to Katarina, 'everything you need to stabilise the virus is there,' he removed any all applications for possible weaponization and left her with a simple, ready-to-work-on regenerative formula, if she was capable, it would take her maybe four or five years to perfect, and when she did, she would find the cure for hundreds of diseases around the globe, and if she went the other way, he would find her and he had no hesitation in doing so, 'thank you, for helping me.'

She nodded knowingly as he closed the face plate, 'I'm keeping my word kid, remember what I said.'

Jack offered a smile as Tony walked outside and took off.

As he flew his mind ran through all sorts of scenarios each one making him feel worse than the previous.

Maybe he _should_ call the Avengers, things were bad before but they were worse now, the Captain would be able to help him and having the big guy on his side would be good too. But no, he couldn't do that, wouldn't do that, they were strong, but the Extremis soldiers were stronger and he at least had the healing abilities which the rest of them didn't have, save for the Captain of course. Maybe he would call him; he blinked away the wetness in his eyes and pushed faster through the sky, sheer will and adrenaline guiding him.

* * *

'How the hell did this happen?' Clint yelled through the radio meeting Natasha's and Bruce's shocked gaze.

The wavering agent on the other end paused, 'the car was attacked and she was taken, sir.'

'Director Fury was with her, what happened to him?' Natasha cut in.

'He was temporarily incapacitated while they took her.' The agent explained, 'some kind of neurological paralysis device, ma'am.'

Natasha crossed her arms looking fiercely at Clint, her mind flashed back immediately to the report of Obadiah Stane using the same device on Tony years ago. She remembered reading the reports feeling sick by the deception despite how little she thought of Tony as a person. No one deserved that.

'Where is he now?' Clint asked firmly.

'Currently being held in the infirmary, he's fine, he'll make a full recovery.'

'Keep us posted.' Natasha bit back, replacing the radio in the holster.

They stood at the edge of the cliff where Stark's mansion once stood, Natasha looked over the night sky and then back at Bruce and Clint.

'What do we do now?' Clint asked shaking his head, 'we have to get her back.'

Bruce looked down at the ground, 'we need help, we should call Steve in.'

'Agreed,' Clint looked to her, 'Nat, we have to.'

She considered them for a moment, 'fine, call him and we'll rendezvous here.' Natasha nodded leaving the men while she walked back to where the house once stood.

Too much had gone on in the last two weeks after the short break of peace they had.

She recalled when she went to speak to Pepper, she was worried about Tony and the Extremis induced illness, Pepper was worried too but put up a brave front, it didn't fool Natasha of course but she left it, it wasn't her place.

But this was, it was the exact place she needed to be in and she needed to find Tony and get Pepper back, this is what their team was best at and she wouldn't stop until they succeeded.

* * *

Pepper awoke with a sickly smell stinging her nostrils, sweat mixed with blood and a faint hint of smoke somewhere in the background.

She rolled her head forward trying to stretch out the tightness in her neck.

'Welcome back Miss Potts, thought we lost you for a moment there.'

Pepper's eyes shot up looking around for the person belonging to the voice.

There in the farthest corner of the room she spotted him, he sat with his back to her typing away at a laptop surrounded by dozens of screens.

The factory like room was covered in files and newspapers, medical and lab equipment and other things she couldn't recognise. She tried to gather in enough information should she ever need to relay it to anyone, _if_ she ever got out…

She groaned as she struggled holding her head up barely being able to focus as haziness washed over her vision; she tried to blink it away only then taking in the rest of her situation; her arms and legs were bound to the rickety, cold metal chair, her body ached and her head pounded.

'Ah, I wouldn't struggle if I were you,' the man spoke without turning, 'you might hurt yourself.'

Pepper suppressed a snide remark and looked down at her arms trying to work out what the stinging pain was; upon the realisation a sharp gasp escaped her lips, 'what did you do to me?'

The man turned around and caught Pepper's attention.

'Bessler…' his name came out in barely a whisper.

He nodded, 'well done Miss Potts, now, don't struggle or you _will_ hurt yourself.'

She looked back down at her arms holding her breath, two syringes attached to catheters with blue liquid protruded from her veins on either arm held in place by medical tape.

'What is this?' She breathed looking up in stunned silence.

He stood up and casually walked over to her with his hands in his pocket, a sick smile across his face, 'this,' he began, 'well this is your future.'

Pepper opened and closed her mouth in silent protest.

She felt her heart drop through the floor as endless scenarios of pure terror ran through her mind.

He stood before her narrowing his eyes at the catheters in her arms, 'don't worry, I'll take good care of you.'

She looked up at him breathlessly as tears pooled up in her eyes and eventually spilled over; his eyes glowed with a vicious, red hue as his fiery smirk shattered her composure.

He knelt before her brushing his fingers across her cheek.

She pulled back turning her face from him, 'what do you want?'

A quiet, almost heartfelt sigh escaped his lips, 'I thought that was obvious by now?'

'You _killed_ him, what more do you want?' She muttered barely being able to speak as the pain ripped through her body.

She closed her eyes and let out a painful cry.

'Don't worry, the pain doesn't last long,' he squeezed her knee, 'as for what I want, I want you and I want you to be with me…forever,' her brought his finger to her chin and lifted her face up to meet his, 'a brand new, shiny trophy, for all the world to see,' he said in a staccato tone, elongating each word.

She pulled back and squeezed her eyes shut as another wave of pain seared through her body, her bones were on fire her skin was like ice, the blood which ran through her pulsated much quicker than it was meant to, panic constricted her throat sending waves of shock through her system.

Her teeth creaked under the grinding of her clenched jaw, 'stop…make it…stop,' she pleaded gripping the chair ends.

Bessler's mouth curled into a snarl, 'that's it, embrace it, let it wash over you, do you feel that?'

She tried to breathe through the agonising pain thrashing against her restraints feeling the pull of the needles on her weak skin, she moaned as the fire spread through her veins and dots flashed across her vision, she leaned forward feeling the onslaught of involuntary stomach contractions forcing her to heave and throw up.

She fell forward held up only by her restrained arms as more uncontrollable heaves wracked her body, when she had nothing left to bring up, saliva pooled from the corner of her mouth as her body rejected whatever he was injecting her with.

He wrapped his fingers around her throat gently pulling her head back up, 'let it consume you,' he whispered running his free hand along her back and through her damp, sweat drenched hair, 'do you feel the power coursing inside of you?'

He licked his lips lowering his face closer to hers, 'do you feel it?'

She let her head drop forward unable to hold it up anymore; incoherent mutterings and gargled moans reverberated through her skull along with the pounding of her heart, all while he spoke in her ear, muttering words which made her blood boil.

'This is phase one of your transformation, soon…soon you'll be like me, perfect in every way.'

_I don't want to be like you, you're a monster, you're pure evil.  
_

His hands traced the skin on her arms, his hot touch felt like torture on her icy skin.

'Phase two will see you adapt to the Extremis, then there's no turning back, you'll be mine and the world will see what it's really like when there's no hero to protect them.'

_The Extremis? No, this couldn't be, this isn't what it looked like when Tony went through it…Tony…no, she would never see him again, he was gone, this bastard killed him and made her watch. She watched as he slipped through her hands._

He snapped off the cable ties from her wrists and ankles and caught her as she slumped forward, 'now this is not like what dear old Tony had, this is a little something I came up with,' he linked his arm under her legs and lifted her up.

Her head lolled from side to side leaning against his chest, she wanted to throw up to kick and fight and scream, but she had no strength to string a coherent sentence together much less do anything physical.

So there she remained, in the arms of the man who destroyed her whole world and there was nothing she could do about it but loll from side to side watching as he carried her to whatever cruel fate awaited her.

* * *

Steve walked hurriedly through the halls as the news of Pepper's abduction spread through the office, his mind raced with thoughts of failure, failure to protect her, for him, and what Tony would do were their roles reversed. He mentally cursed himself for letting her out of his sight and despite what some people thought, Stark would do _anything_ to protect his friends.

This made him scold himself for not personally escorting her, the way in which she was taken; he was told, was through a technology which temporarily paralyses people, those kinds of things didn't work on him.

If _he_ went, if _he_ were there, he could have kept her safe he wouldn't have let them take her.

He clenched his fists and pushed through the door to the infirmary.

Fury was sitting on the edge of the bed buttoning up his shirt; he looked to Steve with a perplexed expression before turning back to the window which he was facing.

'I know what you're going to say.' He said simply.

Steve wanted to say a lot of things, things which needed to be said, to be expressed, but instead, Steve shook his head and swallowed hard, 'I just came to tell you that I'm going after them, I need to know what you saw.'

Fury turned back to him, 'I didn't see anything, they rammed the car from behind, there was no reaction time before they deployed the neuraliser,' he got up and walked over stopping just in front of Steve, 'find her.'

He _would_ find her, he would right this wrong, whatever it took. He didn't know how, or where to even start, but this was his duty, he'd sworn to protect and serve when he became Captain America.

A lot more than patriotism stood before him, this was justice; this was serving a friend, righting the wrongs of the world, most of all it was revenge.

He'd never given the word any thought, much less the connotation behind it, but today was different, this _time_ was different. The same rules didn't apply anymore and he had to adapt.

He nodded firmly, 'I will.'

He turned on his heel and left Fury standing with shoulders slumped forward, head hung low and completely defeated.

'Sir, Captain Rogers, phone call.' A young agent came rushing over to walk along side Steve's hurried pace.

He glanced at the phone in the agents hand, 'who is it?' he questioned before taking it from him.

'It's a private call, sir; they didn't identify themselves they asked specifically for you.'

Steve placed his hand across the speaker, 'did they just ask for Captain America?'

He stopped in the hallway and looked curiously at the young man before him.

The agent shook his head, 'no, sir,' the agent cleared his throat, 'they asked for Captain Spangles,' he shifted in his spot uncomfortably.

Steve's breath hitched.

'Sorry, sir, I tried to correct him but he rushed me.' He looked down at his hands as his cheeks flushed.

'Thank you, 'he mumbled before nodding the agent away.

He quickly rounded the corner and stepped into an empty office and shut the door, he cautiously pressed the phone to his ear, 'Tony?'

* * *

**I really loved Tony/Steve interractions, so this next chapter will be a little bit of fun, amongst all the angst of course!**


	13. Chapter 13

**FINALLY! This took me so long to write, my silly muse was hiding from me and only allowing me to write was she wanted me to write, which obviously wasn't this, until now!**

* * *

'_Miss me?_' Tony's voice came through on the other end bringing a shocked smile to Steve's face.

'You are a crazy son of a bitch.' He let out a disbelieving laugh.

'_Listen, I need your help._' Tony spoke quickly not giving Steve a chance to absorb the fact that he was speaking to his friend, whom he thought was dead, only minutes ago.

'What do you need?' Steve asked with a quick nod.

'_Meet me at my house, the one with the open view and natural light_.' Tony said light heartedly.

'You mean the one with a one-step shortcut to the beach?' Steve joked.

'_That's the one_,' Tony confirmed with a chuckle, '_from what I've managed to gather, intel-wise, the others are already there._'

'How do you know that?' Steve asked shifting in his spot.

'_I've been monitoring the chatter for a few days, Bruce has been searching for me, and I guess Romanov decided he was onto something,_' he explained without going into too much detail, '_I'll see you in an hour?'_

'I'll be there.' Steve said finally disconnecting the call.

He laughed to himself before hurriedly making his way to his room, he gathered what he needed and suited up, slinging his shield over his back he began his journey to meet his friend.

Natasha knelt on the ground cringing at the thought of what Tony would be going through if he knew Pepper was gone, then again, knowing him, he already knew.

She looked up as a familiar sound in the distance roared into sight, she looked down at the tablet she was holding, once satisfied that the repulsor signature was definitely a friendly she got to her feet, 'it's fine, it's Rhodes,' she spoke to Clint who had his bow with explosive arrows at the ready.

Bruce backed down and allowed his skin to turn a healthier shade of white, 'do these people just know everything?'

Natasha's lip curled slightly into a satisfied smirk, 'he's Tony's best friend, what do you think?'

Rhodey landed several yards away with a loud thud, he raised his face plate to greet them, 'we have to get Pepper back, how the hell did this even happen?'

Natasha stepped forward, 'we're on it, but we could use your help.'

Rhodey clenched his jaw and his armoured fists, 'I swore to protect her.'

'And you will, trust me, we're on it and we could use your help.'

'Again, how did this happen?' Rhodey asked moving closer to the other Avengers who had since relaxed their stance.

Natasha handed over the tablet she was working on, 'the car was ambushed and we believe they used a neuron stabiliser, similar to what Stark was working on, years back.'

Rhodey nodded immediately recognising the results of the paralysis device from Tony's description when it was used on him by Obadiah.

'Do we know if Pepper's alive?' Rhodey asked looking around at the debris which marred the usually pristine cliff face, it resembled a war zone and the thought made his shudder.

'I have no doubt; Bessler wants her for himself, so he's not going to harm her.' Natasha explained coolly.

'Fine, then let's-' Rhodey stopped midsentence and looked up to the sky, 'what the hell is that?'

Their eyes shot up to the sky, Natasha immediately gauging exactly _who _it was, but checking the tablet for the repulsor signature just the same.

Before anyone could say a word the familiar, red and gold figure landed in his famous three point pose before standing tall to greet them.

Rhodey looked at the imposter with such distaste that Natasha found it imperative to stand between them; she looked to Rhodey then back at Iron Man.

His face plate opened and they were met by Tony's grinning face.

'You knew he was alive and no one told me?' Rhodey shouted before moving forward and looking Tony in the eyes.

'It's good to see you buddy.' Tony said before holding out an armoured hand.

Rhodey reluctantly shook it then pulled him into an embrace.

The two armoured body's clanked loudly as two reunited friends laughed it off.

As soon as he heard Tony's sigh he retreated back to the mindset of the mission ahead of them, 'they've got Pepper,' he found himself whispering in his ear.

Tony nodded against his shoulder, 'I know, I need your help.'

They pulled apart and looked at the other faces around them.

'Rogers here yet?' Tony asked offering them a weak smile.

Clint shook his head, 'I didn't know we told him?'

'You didn't, I did.' Tony corrected, 'he'll be here soon.'

Light hearted chatter kept them occupied for the fifteen minutes before Steve arrived, the look on his face said what the other were all thinking; relief, joy and determination and true to his usual form he walked up to Tony and held his hand out.

'Glad to have you back, Stark.'

'Glad to be back.' Tony nodded with a smile.

As soon as all the formalities and questions were out of the way Clint stepped up and looked to Tony, Steve may have been their Captain, but Tony was calling all the shots. No one complained.

'What's the game plan?' Clint asked.

Tony cleared his throat and looked at them all individually before stopping at Rhodey, 'they've got her at a medical facility in Pittsburgh it's going to take at least a day to get there, 'I need you,' he gestured to Natasha, Clint and Bruce, 'to make your way there in the quinjet, we're going to need a lot of back up; Rhodey, you and I are going to go in first and Steve, I need you with us, so I'm suiting you up to fly there.'

Steve's eyes widened, 'in one of your suits?'

Tony offered a mischievous grin, 'correct.'

Rhodey smiled knowing exactly how terrifying it could be when you've never experienced anything like it, 'don't worry, his auto pilot systems are world class, you'll be fine,' he said with a shrug.

Steve nodded reluctantly, 'ok, alright I can do that.'

'Good, when we get there we're going in first, from what Jarvis has told me, they've got her in an underground level three floors below the surface, they used it as a base to "treat" mentally ill patients, of course it ended up as more of a prison camp than anything,' Tony looked to Natasha and motioned for her to pass him the tablet, 'on the surface it's a basic building, a psychiatric institute, nothing spectacular in the structure, but when we get underground, that's where the fun begins.'

Steve nodded leaning in to look at the schematics Tony had brought up.

'There are seven floors below ground and these areas of the building are his experimental floors, we need to _avoid _these at all costs,' he looked intently at Steve and Rhodey making sure they understood.

Once he received unanimous nods he continued, 'the lower levels are rigged with enough C4 to blow the whole block, if he knows we're there he won't hesitate to push the button,' he rubbed his head taking a deep breath for the next part, 'there are going to be at least fifty, if not more, of his _super freaks_, so keep a level head and stay invisible, we all saw what happens when you don't play nice with them.' He remembered being crippled by Mallen and the thought alone made bile rise to the back of this throat.

Natasha exhaled a deep breath and nodded, 'ok, sounds easy enough.'

'We'll rendezvous just outside Crafton; it's only five miles out, everyone good?' Tony asked looking around.

'We're good, let's go.' Natasha nodded.

'Let's go.' Clint agreed.

Bruce replied by shaking Tony's armoured hand, 'see you soon.'

Tony offered a short nod before they left for their quinjet, ready to get a head start on the mission.

He turned back to Steve and thought about the armours and what would be the best plan of attack.

'_J, open up the party floor and let's see if we can't give Steve a suit to play with.'_

'_I would recommend offering Captain Rogers the Mark forty two and replacing yours with the updated version, Sir, the stealth feature may be of use.'_

'_Sounds like a plan J, do it.'_

'Alright Capsicle, you're taking this one, and I'm taking that one,' he pointed to the basement of the non-existent structure as it opened up revealing a bottomless pit with dozens if not hundreds of suits, he moved his arm toward Steve before his armour began disassembling itself and flying over to him.

Steve watched in pure amazement as the suit clicked into place perfectly around his body, then Tony's did the same around his.

Rhodey stood back with a smirk, remembering how he was blown away with the Mark three, all those years ago.

Tony had definitely upgraded and perfected his creation since then.

'Alright boys, let's do this!' Tony shouted slamming their face plates shut and locking in coordinates for all three suits.

* * *

Pepper awoke to the sound of random noises coming from around her instinctively she found herself squeezing her eyes shut avoiding the brightness above her and trying to work out what was going on, where she was and why she couldn't move.

Fear wrapped its cold, slimy tendrils around her heart and squeezed mercilessly as another sound was picked up by her ears.

Screams, agonising tortured screams. Her breath hitched as she looked around, she was in another room, underground, there were no windows and the only source of light were the powerful fluorescents which shone brightly above her.

The stench of too much steriliser pierced her lungs as she gasped for air; it felt as though she was learning how to do everything all over again.

'I'm alive…'she let out a regretful sigh as she remembered everything, the Extremis hadn't killed her.

Bessler appeared before her as she cracked her eyes open and cool hand touched her forehead, 'yes you are, and almost perfect.'

She swallowed hard trying to drown out the screaming above her.

'See, it didn't last that long did it?' He whispered leaning in closer and planting a kiss on her forehead.

It took all the strength within her not to thrash out or scream as her body fought extremely hard with her mind trying to contain the hatred which consumed her.

The rage was almost unbearable.

'What is this going to prove?' She hissed.

'Well,' he smiled sweetly at her, 'now that Tony Stark is gone there's a new man in town, someone who's better and much more powerful than he was, in every way.'

'The Avengers will take you down,' she smirked, 'you've got nothing going for you.'

'I beg to differ.' He replied dryly.

'Why?' She narrowed her eyes at him.

'You're here, Tony's not and I _am_.' He said nonchalantly, 'which means, in the grand scheme of things I've done a pretty good job thus far in proving my point, wouldn't you say?'

Pepper shook her head against the musty, hard pillow under her head, 'no,' she whispered.

'Now there are a few things I need to tell you.' He began.

'Go to hell.' She bit back cutting him off.

He let out a soft chuckle, 'oh there's no need for that.'

Pepper swallowed hard turning her head away from him.

'Now, like I was saying, the serum we have to administer to finish this is a little different, you may find yourself a little more, how should I say, energetic,' he waved over two guards who stood by the door.

Pepper noticed the familiar gleam in their eyes, great; they were all Extremis soldiers, that's what they were right, a person or persons who contend or serve in any cause?

Terrorists more like it, she corrected herself.

They reinforced the straps which already held her to the bed only now they left her with no ability to move her arms or legs at all.

'You're transformation is almost complete my dear,' he said cupping her cheek, 'one more set of drips and you're done.'

Pepper clenched her jaw shut wishing that her body _would _reject it and that she would die, she remembered Tony telling her than only a small percentile of people in the world could handle the transformation, something about the brain being overloaded in the cortex.

It didn't sound good and what worried her more was that she didn't think she would be one of those people. So how did so many of these idiots survive?

Bessler stood back and admired her from a few feet away, 'you know,' he began fiddling with the papers he was holding, 'without Tony's blood and DNA, we never would have perfected this, so, in a way, he did save you,' he mused.

Pepper fought back the sobs which she so desperately wanted to release.

That's how. They took his blood and used whatever DNA sequencing made him immune and fabricated it within their own version of the Extremis.

'When?' Did they fish his body out of the sea?

He walked over to her and leaned in to her ear, 'oh, a while back, on the rooftop, if you remember?'

'Natasha shot you!' Pepper shouted.

'She did, and believe it or not, that agency you place so much trust in has a few leaks which need plugging.' He said viciously.

Her eyes shot up in disbelief, 'there's no way.'

'You don't even know the half of it darling, but let's not worry your head about such mundane things,' he raked his fingers through her hair.

So many things started to make sense, they probably replaced the bullets they used on that case and made sure Tony was alone with threats they knew only he would tackle. Oh god. How did they miss this? Did they really trust them so blindly that something like this fell through the cracks?

Her mind was immediately brought back to her own situation at present as the two guards which stood beside her were replaced by two men dressed in white lab coats; she noted their names and was quite sure they weren't American which meant she had nothing to bargain with them.

They were probably paid a handsome fee to work here, off the books without anyone ever knowing what they were doing.

One started prepping a syringe while the other relaced the tubing from the catheters already stuck attached to her arms.

Her stomach dropped through the floor, 'what are they doing?'

Bessler looked down at her and smiled, 'these are the final stages of the serum I have to administer, now for this one, you shouldn't find it as painful as before and if you do, well, there isn't anything I can do unfortunately.' He laughed patting her arm.

She grit her teeth and prepared herself, this was happening and there was nothing she could do about it.

There was no use crying or fighting; that could be done after, when she was free and able to kill him.

That was her silver lining. She would use his weapon against him, her.

But as soon as the drip began her composure shattered as the searing pain hit her and her eyes began to water as a natural response to the pain.

She couldn't stop the screaming which came, afraid that if she ever stopped her skull would explode.

'Don't worry Pepper, you'll be just fine.' He said simply before walking away and leaving her screaming as the echoes reverberated around her in her own, personal hell.

* * *

Tony, Steve and Rhodey landed in a darkened street a few blocks away from the only house there.

'Good thing we're landing at night, wouldn't want to wake the neighbours.' Rhodey muttered into the coms drawing a laugh from Tony.

Steve looked perplexed in the picture in their HUD's.

Tony rolled his eyes at him which in turn elicited a stern look.

'You two are just as bad as each other,' he shook his head.

'Hey!' Tony and Rhodey complained in unison finally drawing a hint of a smile from Steve.

'What's wrong with me?' Tony began.

Rhodey looked at him with a bewildered grin, 'are you kidding, what's _not_ wrong with you?'

'Ouch, that hurt Rhodes.' Tony said sarcastically not being able to hide the smirk and his relief for some normalcy in this dire situation.

'Yeah, yeah.' Rhodey muttered leaving Steve completely confused, yet smiling at the familiar banter.

He had seen the interaction on the helicarrier and even at Tony's house between him and the other Avengers, but seeing this, Tony with his friend from college, his family, the way they interacted made him think harder about the things he'd said to him in the past.

He wasn't as cold or careless as he was led to believe and the more he realised this about his team mate, the happier he was for the opportunity.

'They'll be landing in approximately seven hours,' Rhodey announced glancing down at the data Tony had input before they left.

'If Romanov is piloting, probably four,' Tony corrected.

Steve laughed, 'unless Clint kicked her out of the pilot's seat?'

'Good point,' Tony mused raising his eyebrows agreeing with him.

Rhodey looked at them both in the HUD, 'why would Clint kick her out?'

'She's a little scary, when she flies.' Tony turned to Steve for support.

He nodded thoughtfully, 'I thought I was going to die the first time she piloted.'

Tony nodded with a serious expression, 'serious business, don't trust her with a quinjet.'

Steve laughed this time at Rhodey's disbelieving expression.

'Alright, so the institute is that way, we know we have backup coming so I think we should head over now, do a quick permitter check, see what we're dealing with,' Tony explained.

'Good idea,' Rhodey nodded igniting the boot thrusters and taking off into the sky, shortly followed by Steve and then Tony.

'_When we land, disassemble Steve's suit, store it and instruct them to make their way to the rear of the building, there's a small security post, it's unmanned.'_

'_Of course sir, where shall I say you're going?'_

'_Tell them I'm going for a scenic flight, I need to check something out before we go in, got it?'_

'_Of course sir.'_

'_Thanks J.'_

'_My pleasure.'_

Steve and Rhodey landed as instructed giving Tony the chance he needed to slip away and do his own surveillance.

Rhodey knew enough to not bother him when he was doing what he needed to do so he was grateful when he received no interruptions.

He flew through the sky keeping high enough to avoid detection, even with stealth mode activated on this armour, there was no telling what kind of technology they'd have patrolling the perimeter, and he stayed low enough to be able to get an infrared read on the building and the underground floors.

What he saw made his stomach drop and his blood pressure rise, a shaky breath escaped his lips as he saw the unmistakable Extremis signatures show up on the HUD, and the unmistakable figure of Pepper Potts was one of them. The DNA check proved it, and Tony felt himself heating up with rage.

He grit his teeth trying to contain the anger which pooled through him, every entry point was rigged with explosives and every entry which wasn't, _was _armed with an extremely high tech security system.

He felt his breathing growing quicker and shallower as panic began to assault him.

His chest tightened and Jarvis' warning began to sound, 'sir, you must slow your breathing down.'

'Shut up.' Tony barely managed.

Jarvis flashed the warnings up on the HUD again, 'sir, it is imperative that you focus on your heart rate, you will have a panic attack.'

'I'm fine.' He bit back.

'You are not fine and if you don't calm down I will override the functions of this suit.'

Tony clenched his jaw, 'fine, I got it.'

He closed his eyes momentarily trying to catch his breath and slow his heart rate down.

A few painful moments later the warnings died down and his airways seemed to be on his side again.

'I'm going back to meet Rhodey and Steve, instruct them to find the lower level of the security post, it's a bunker, it's reinforced and it's safe.' Tony managed.

'Yes sir.' Jarvis replied kicking Tony's armour into full throttle toward the designated meeting spot.

The agony which Pepper must be going through killed Tony, he couldn't think straight he didn't want to; he wanted to kill them all and save her.

That's all that mattered, getting her out, keeping her safe and nothing else.

But it wasn't that easy and that's what hurt the most.

He failed and this was his fault. His need for the virus, to perfect it had plastered a flashing, neon sign on both their heads.

Yes. This was his fault.

* * *

**Awesome so that's down, hope you're all still enjoying, let me know what you think!**

**And as always, JIMENUSH, you're awesome, you make me LOVE writing and your help is so greatly appreciated, you pick up on all the little things which slip my mind, and without your consistent words of encouragement and wisdom, I would probably curl up into a ball and cry like a baby! So thank you :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks for reviewing :)**

* * *

Steve and Rhodey broke their way into the underground bunker; there was something eerily calm about the situation they were in and Rhodey found it soothing to be in the comfort of a fellow soldier. Someone who followed orders and rules and did what was right.

Tony, on the other hand, did what was right but by any methods he saw fit.

Rhodey didn't mind that, he would be the first person to vouch for his best friend before anyone else, but he saw how many times he came close to death because of his rash behaviours and that made his insides churn.

He didn't want to lose his friend and he didn't know how he had functioned for the last week when he thought he was dead, all those thoughts aside he was happy beyond belief that he was here and wanted to keep it that way.

No more irrational choices from the billionaire, he'd have to go through him first, and he knew Steve would have no qualms in doing so either.

Steve stood up as a loud thud above them alerted of a presence, before he could make a move for the door it was pushed open with such force it nearly knocked him backwards.

Tony came rushing in with beads of sweat dotted on his forehead.

Rhodey immediately rushed to his side helping him sit down as he swayed on his feet clutching at his chest gasping for air, 'what the hell happened?'

Tony shook his head as words evaded him.

Rhodey shook his shoulder, 'Tony?'

He let out short breaths unable to form any words.

'What happened?' Steve repeated gently shaking him.

Tony finally managed to slow his erratic heart rate down enough to form a sentence, 'they injected her with the Extremis.'

Steve and Rhodey exchanged worried glances before kneeling beside the billionaire. He dropped his head into his hands as his body shook trying to get his breathing under control.

They sat in silence for more than an hour letting Tony get everything out of his system.

'She was the reason I did everything, without her there's nothing. There's no reason for me to stay, nothing for me to fight for.' He broke the silence running his hands through his hair with a shaky sigh.

Rhodey gently squeezed his friend's shoulder, 'she's not gone, you can still save her.'

'You didn't see what they did to her, I failed, _I_ let her get taken.' Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, 'by trying to protect her I left her vulnerable, this is on me.' He looked at Rhodey and Steve and then back down at his feet.

Rhodey cleared his throat, he saw the anguish in Tony's eyes and the internal struggle was taking its toll on his body. His eyes looked tired and the dark shadows under them highlighted just how little he allowed himself to sleep over the last few months. His skin was a sickly pallor and it only made him look like _he_ was at deaths door.

'We will get her back, I promise you, Tony, we _will_ solve this.' As a soldier he was taught better, empty promises were sometimes worse than the sickening truth.

Steve shot him a sideways glance urging him to stop, but to Rhodey this was neither empty nor false.

He _knew_ that they would solve this and get her back, he knew it in his bones and he needed Tony to know too, and more than anything, he needed Tony at his best and believing in himself, he couldn't do this alone and he definitely couldn't do it with the defeated man who was sitting before him.

Tony nodded slightly, an acknowledgement that he had understood him and agreed, however, his eyes said otherwise.

Guilt had riddled him and Rhodey feared it was unfixable.

Steve dropped to the floor beside him and leaned his back against the wall, he closed his eyes letting out a sigh.

He couldn't even begin to imagine the guilt he was holding inside, all the pressure he placed on himself, all the weight he carried alone on his shoulders, no one should have to do that.

Rhodey looked at the billionaire who sat slumped forward, barely holding his own frame up as he cursed himself over and over for failing. The dark bruises along his arms were a sharp contrast to the pale skin on which they lay; his dark hair was a matted mess while his face remained in a constant grimace of pain.

He finally noticed the hell he had been through before coming back to them, his false charade of calm and confidence shattered and fell haplessly around him.

He noticed the silent tears as they splashed on the ground where Tony remained unmoving save for the clenching and unclenching of his fists along with quiet mutterings of hate toward himself.

The dark bunker in which they found themselves did little to help the situation and it only accentuated the misery and the direness.

Rhodey shifted beside his friend and expelled an audible sigh, 'we need you Tony, we can't do this without you.'

A small, sad smile escaped formed across his lips as his eyes remained transfixed on the ground.

'Tony, you can do this, _you_ can fix it.' He closed his eyes and bowed his head, he had never seen Tony like this before.

He knew now, better than ever before, Tony Stark didn't fall from his thrown, but when he did he crashed hard.

'If she dies, I'm done.' Tony finally spoke up looking at them.

Rhodey looked at him solemnly, 'Tony…'

He stood up and turned his back to his friends, 'I mean it, I'm done, all of this, Iron Man, the company, I quit.'

Rhodey rubbed his head, 'it won't get to that.'

Tony turned to look at him, ignoring Steve who looked like he desperately wanted to say something, 'you don't know that, hell, _I _don't know that, I've never been unsure of anything in my life, but Rhodey, I have _no idea _what I'm doing,' he leaned heavily against the wall and stifled a sarcastic laugh, 'I just, I don't know, I don't know what to do.'

Tony's revelation crushed him. He stood up and slowly walked over to him gathering his thoughts and what he would say next. He had to be careful, this was a delicate situation and it required a carefully planned approach.

He crossed his arms over his chest, 'We will work it out together, that's why I'm here man, that's why we're both here.'

Tony turned to face him and then Steve, 'I know, thank you.'

'We need to think of something, we're running out of time.' Rhodey knew he needed to be pushed, just how much, he still needed to gauge.

'You think I don't know that?' he shook his head, 'I do, I know better than anyone.'

'So we _need_ to get moving, this isn't helping at all.' Rhodey waved his hand around; the dark, musty underground bunker shuddered every time something above them moved, he recalled that heavily armoured trucks drove past in regular intervals maintaining the perimeter, this was going to be a potential problem and if that wasn't bad enough, the asylum had its own share of commotion.

Screams and yells were heard in the distance, he couldn't believe they still had people in there, then again, knowing Bessler, they were probably experiments…just like Pepper.

He breathed out and rubbed his face, 'Tony, you need to get up and do something,' he took a deep breath and prepared himself for the berating of a life time.

The icy look Tony gave him made his blood freeze, but he didn't yell or argue, instead he hung his shoulders, 'you're right,' he said simply.

'Ok…' he looked at him sideways, 'what's the plan?' he asked cautiously.

'He's got the virus and I need to get it from him,' he retrieved his phone from his pocket and started typing away, 'I got it before, I'll get it again.'

Steve looked up at Rhodey who gave him a nod of understanding, this is how Tony did things and he needed to work them out in his own head before anyone could make him do anything.

Rhodey uncrossed his arms and rubbed his face, 'and what do you plan to do with it when you get it?'

He looked up at Rhodey, 'whatever I need to,' was his simple reply.

Rhodey didn't like it, but he knew there would be no talking him out of it, and there would be no reasoning with him, he also knew there was no other way.

'What do you need us to do?' Rhodey pushed aside the negative thoughts of the impending doom and Tony's greatest fear which was lurking just around the proverbial corner.

Tony continued typing for a few seconds before looking back in Rhodey's direction, 'I need you on this, War Machine will be the distraction and the bait, Steve you're with him,' he handed Rhodey the phone and brought up the downloaded schematics of the building, 'they're holding her here,' he pointed.

'Alright, so we'll get them out in the open and you can take it from there?' Rhodey zoomed in on the map and pointed to the entry points.

Tony nodded, 'sounds like a plan.'

Rhodey handed back the phone and pulled his jacket tighter around his body, his nerves finally made an appearance and he cursed himself. There was no time for being scared.

'We've got four hours until the virus becomes unstable,' Tony muttered, 'five until Romanov gets here,' he closed his eyes taking a deep breath, 'there's no room for error.'

All he received were two silent nods and that's all he needed. They spent the next three hours preparing the plan, their suits and their minds.

Rhodey and Steve worked quietly on the timing for the infiltration, while Tony sat slumped forward with his fingertips together, staring at the floor.

Steve wanted to question him but Rhodey urged him not to, he knew how Tony worked, and what may have seemed like time wasting to some, was anything but for Tony.

He was furiously calculating the scenarios with which they would be faced, the possible outcomes, anything that could go wrong and how to overcome it.

Rhodey saw the determination in his eyes every time he looked up briefly, before dropping his gaze to the ground again.

Steve finally understood and watched curiously as he worked; he knew he should have been focussing on the timing with Rhodey, although he couldn't help but look over at him every so often as a small sigh broke the silence.

Rhodey looked up too and swallowed hard noticing the pain replacing the determination. His wealth of knowledge was a pool deep within his core, it transcended much farther than just his metaphysical reality, he knew Tony's genius was a gift as much a curse to him.

He saw _everything_, calculated everything and everything was already played out in his mind before it even began.

He couldn't imagine living like that knowing how things would end because mathematics and science and logic ruled in his domain and there was no room for hopeful fantasies, only truth.

He shook his head and tried to push those thoughts aside. After the final touches were made to the timing, he walked over to Tony and waited for him.

Tony looked up and smiled, much to Rhodey's relief, the pain was gone and in its place was hope.

'We doing this?' He asked trying to mirror Tony's new, apparent outlook.

He nodded and held out the tablet on which he was working and pulled up several images, 'this will work.'

Rhodey looked over at the plans and they compared notes, much to his relief the plans were on par with Tony's and at that moment he knew there was a chance.

'The _super freaks_ will be changing shifts in about twenty minutes; I think we should aim for that,' Tony added nonchalantly.

Rhodey looked down at the plans, 'sounds good to me.'

'Good, let's finish this up and get into position.' Tony nodded to them.

The time flew past through their usual light hearted banter, but the dark undertones were still there in the back of Tony's mind, where it raged with failing scenarios and fearful endings.

He shook them aside and mentally prepped himself as best as he could, 'ready?' He looked to Steve and Rhodey.

'Ready.' They replied.

* * *

Pepper lay motionlessly strapped to the bed; she had lost feeling in her limbs long ago as the final serum took effect and she found herself staring at the mustard coloured ceiling.

She stopped screaming about two hours ago and she stopped sobbing probably two hours after that.

And then came the anger where she thrashed against her restraints then shortly after that came the acceptance. She was here, and Tony was dead, the house where all their memories were, now lay at the bottom of the pacific. Her tears continued to flow and she cursed herself. There was no getting out of this. Her silver lining dissipated in a cloud of vengeful rain and raging storms.

She wished she could stop the ache and the tears but all she could see was Tony's face and the fear that flashed briefly in his eyes as the bombs hit. She tried to blink away the teary haze to no avail; his eyes haunted her and then came the guilt, again.

Their final night together was one she wanted to forget but never would.

The last thing he got from her was a speech about irresponsibility and blame.

She bit back the bile which was looming and squeezed her eyes shut.

Until now Pepper hadn't even realised that she was left alone in the dark, sterile room. The doctors were gone and there were no guards either.

The screams of other 'test subjects' bled through the walls and the stench of the antiseptics stung her nostrils only magnifying the queasiness she was feeling.

There, somewhere in the distance she heard a door creak open.

Her eyes remained shut and her breathing remained heavy.

'So she's finally calmed down…' a melodic voice cracked through the stillness of the makeshift lab, 'the final stages of the dose are complete.'

The footsteps came closer and finally stopped behind her head.

She didn't bother opening her eyes she already knew who it was and it only made things worse.

'I'm sorry it had to be this way,' she spoke quietly as she removed the drips from Pepper's arms.

'Are you?' Pepper asked dryly, finally opening her eyes and looking the woman in the face.

A sigh escaped the doctor's lips, 'I am, I cared for Tony,' she moved around the bed to face Pepper, 'deeply.'

'Don't you dare say his name.' Pepper hissed.

'There's no need for that.' She said firmly as she pulled the final syringe out of place and bandaged up her arms.

'You killed him.' Pepper whispered.

'It wasn't meant to end like this.' She tried to explain herself.

Pepper closed her eyes, 'he trusted you, Maya.'

She turned away from Pepper's scorning look and cleared her throat, 'he shouldn't have tried to evade us like that.'

'Don't try and justify what you did.' Pepper spat back.

Maya looked down at her, 'his arrogance got him killed, he should have kept his word and given us what we wanted!' She raised her voice.

Pepper shook her head stifling a laugh, 'you're just a psychopath with a PhD, nothing more.'

Maya turned briskly on her heel, 'you have no idea what it was like working in his shadow, the _great _Tony Stark always fixing your mistakes, always showing you where you failed!'

Pepper laughed sarcastically, '_he_ fixed _your_ serum, ironic, isn't it?'

Maya's face hardened, 'it wasn't meant to go this way,' she clenched her fist gripping the edge of Pepper's bed; 'I loved him.'

Pepper turned away, 'leave me alone, I'd rather listen to the other psychos here.'

Maya cleared her throat and shifted in her spot, 'fine, Bessler will be with you soon.'

She didn't hesitate or argue she simply pulled away the cart of medical supplies and left Pepper alone once more.

As soon as the door was shut, Pepper finally let out a furious scream and squeezed her eyes shut, 'oh god Tony, I'm so sorry for everything I said, I'm so sorry!'

The echoes of her own screams, and pleadings for forgiveness which would never be answered, surrounded her.

* * *

'Ready in, three, two, one…' Rhodey aimed and shot his repulsors at a door where several armed guards were stationed, two were flung backwards and slammed into the wall behind them, and the three standing opened fire, just as planned.

Steve lunged forward incapacitating as many of them as he could with his shield.

Tony had walked them through the schematics and guard positioning, enough to get them in and cause the diversion he needed.

The attention they drew saw at least fifteen others joining them and Rhodey grinned at the HUD as it displayed the dozens of men who came to shoot at him, 'come on boys, show me where it's at.'

He flew toward them full force deploying as many munitions as he could watching excitedly as the guards spilled onto the street below trying to contain the flames, chase him down and search for the source of the commotion.

Steve was right behind flinging his shield, hitting three at a time as it flew past and came back to him, ready for another bout.

A few smart ones ran toward the building where Pepper was being held and a few others went straight for Maya and her scientists. It didn't matter; enough was done for Tony to make his way in safely without being seen. Of course this was a stealth infiltration and needed to be followed to the second, no room for error. No pressure.

Tony felt uneasy about having to go in sans armour but he knew they would be able to trace him, and that was not a risk he was willing to take when Pepper's safety was at stake.

So he had the armour waiting, ready to deploy at the right moment safe and sound for when the time was right.

With Rhodey's attention seeking escapades, he was free to find her and save her and make this right. His heart raced erratically, anticipation growing with each silent step.

Being 'dead' was a huge benefit to him now; no one would suspect him so no one would be looking.

He silently came to a stop just before a split in the corridors and awaited instructions.

The schematics were uploaded in his mind and he knew exactly where he needed to be. Unfortunately he couldn't see whether he would bump into anyone so he still relied on live, infrared data from the physical armour, and since Rhodey was the only one out there he sat tight, not willing to screw this up due to his impatience.

'You're clear on all sides buddy!' Rhodey announced.

Tony nodded at the communication and continued down the hall in a quickened pace, this was it, he was close, he could feel it.

Soon this would all be over…one way or another.

* * *

**BOOM! THERE WE GO, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THAT?! SOME ACTION GOING DOWN, AS ALWAYS LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, THE NEXT 3 CHAPTERS ARE ALREADY GOOD TO GO!**


	15. Chapter 15

**This was one of my favourite chapters to write, and the one after! Hope you like it!**

* * *

Outside, beyond the cold, sterile walls, Pepper heard loud gunfire and the roaring of exploding grenades.

Somewhere in the chaos she heard men barking orders and screaming for back up.

A familiar sound with made her heart ache caught her attention, the unmistakeable sound of the Iron Man repulsors; only she knew it wasn't, it couldn't be.

'So, the War Machine has come to avenge his friend, how sweet,' Bessler laughed maniacally.

Pepper turned her face away in a painful grimace.

'You know, going in guns' blazing, that was Tony's thing; I thought the Colonel was a lot smarter.' He said tauntingly.

She flinched at the mention of his name and the sharp stabbing pain ripped through her heart again.

She closed her eyes as the tears began to form, right on cue, any mention of his name, anything associated with him, anything at all that reminded her of the sickening reality brought on the tears.

'Don't worry my dear, this will be over soon, I promise.' He squeezed her shoulder affectionately, 'you know, it's a damn shame,' he paused to look over the bandages Maya had placed on her, 'it would have been so good to have Stark on our side.'

Pepper turned to face him, 'he never would have said yes,' she managed weakly.

He nodded with a faux sadness, 'he would have done anything for you.' He spoke quietly.

Pepper knew he was right.

He nodded sadly, 'yes,' he ran his hand up and down her arm feeling her skin beneath his fingers, 'so easy to target when there's something of value right there to barter for.'

'Don't touch me!' She bit back, thrashing in her constraints trying as hard as she could to remain sane.

No, her mind refused to give in, refused to liken Tony to something so weak, he was a hero, he was a genius, he was her saviour…weakness came over her and she stopped fighting…he _was._

Bessler cupped Pepper's cheek in his hand and gently turned her face toward him, 'you're mine now, so the sooner you accept that, the easier it will be,' he smiled breathing the scent of her hair in, 'for you.'

She didn't struggle and she didn't turn from him, instead she just looked up at the ceiling.

He smiled down at her with a sadistic grin before leaning down to kiss her. She fought back the tears as his lips made contact with hers and all her emotions flooded over the dam wall.

_Oh god Tony, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, oh god Tony I love you so much…_

* * *

'Tony, you've got company on your six, watch your back.' Rhodey warned.

Tony nodded to himself and continued on his path, he waited, listening to the steps closing in behind him before he turned and disarmed him before shoving his knee into the man's abdomen. As he crashed into the ground Tony retrieved the man's weapon and slung it over his shoulder, he stayed lower to the ground and continued toward the lower floors where Pepper was being held.

He took the steps three at a time and once he reached the bottom he took a vantage point behind one of the concrete pillars and awaited Rhodey's instructions again. He let out a shaky sigh as he noticed his hands trembling, 'come on, not now, not now,' he whispered to himself.

'You've got four on your ten, and two on your three.' Rhodey fed him the information.

Closing his eyes he took a deep breath and peered out enough to get a good shot. He steadied his hands and squeezed the trigger, the man went down instantly but unfortunately the noise also alerted the other guards which were no longer on his three, but he was faced with five coming straight at him.

He ducked behind the pillar only shooting every so often when he stole a chance to look; he successfully took three more down, leaving only two to deal with. He dropped the empty gun and stood up. He leaned heavily against the wall and tried to slow his breathing.

'_Jarvis, route everything to the chest RT'_

'_Sir, this will weaken you, if you run into any difficulties you won't be able to-'_

'_I know, just do it.' _

'_Yes sir, power at one hundred per cent routed to chest RT.'_

Tony braced himself then in one swift movement he flung himself in front of the armed men and fired.

Before they could even get a single shot out the RT had thrown a repulsor blast so strong that they were thrown several feet backwards.

He fell to his knees momentarily weakened, how he hated it when Jarvis was right.

'_Check the vitals.'_

'_The reactor is at forty per cent and the RT won't be able to fire another shot without killing you.'_

'_Ok…that's the good news, what's the bad news?'_

'_The extremis is fighting your mind's defences; you will need to re write the Extremis to eradicate this problem in the future.'_

'_Duly noted.'_

He clenched his fist and pushed himself up and off the ground, he needed to move fast, his state was weakening and he needed to reach Pepper before it was too late.

* * *

'What the hell was that?' Bessler jumped backwards looking around in confusion.

Pepper tried to listen out, all she could hear was the ringing in her ears after the loud blast shook the walls.

Bessler ran to the door and pulled it open, the two guards from earlier joined him inside, 'stay here, watch her.'

One of them nodded and the other took his post by the now locked door.

Pepper could feel the anger rising within her; rage was slowly filling her body, hatred toward these men and who they were, anger for what they did to her, angst for the loss of Tony.

All the rage she had ever felt in her life finally came to the surface and she felt something slowly burning within her, she clenched her fists and pulled harder at the restraints.

Tony's face came into her mind, the bomb exploding, the flames engulfing him, 'no!' she screamed and screamed as all the strength she had within her snapped the restraints and send the buckles and padlocks flying across the room.

The two stunned guards raised their weapons at her, 'stop!' one of them yelled.

Pepper looked around herself in awe, she raised her hands and looked down at the broken locks which looked like they'd been torn apart by the Hulk, slowly she looked up and made eye contact with the guards.

One stepped closer holding his ground while the other looked slightly less confident. He edged closer to the door.

'Stand down!' He yelled at her, gun raised and ready to fire.

Pepper stepped closer, inching toward him, 'your boss killed the man I love, right now, not even _my_ life means anything to me,' she spoke calmly, 'so your threats and your little gun there don't scare me.'

The man closest to the door lowered his gun and ran out of the room.

'Your friend is smart, also, he's alive, much less than I can say for you.' She stepped closer and closer.

The guard was obviously under specific instruction to preserve her, to avoid harming her.

Pepper noted the hesitation and lunged toward him; she slammed her fist into his jaw and sent him flying backwards. He landed in a heap against the door and slid down slamming into the ground.

She looked down at her hands with an exasperated sigh as his blood dripped down her fingers and to the floor.

More and more gun shots and blasts sounded through the walls dragging her attention back to her surrounds, she heard the repulsor blasts getting louder and louder, _oh god, Rhodey, hurry!_

She ran over to the fallen guard and searched through his pockets and found the keys to the room.

She fumbled with trembling fingers and watery eyes trying to get the key in the hole to no avail, 'come on!' she screamed at herself.

She finally managed, as she pushed the door open and ran right into the arms of Bessler, 'leaving already?'

She tried to hit him and break away, but he was stronger than she was and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back through the door.

She clawed at the air; 'no!' she screamed and thrashed against his hold to no avail, 'please, no!'

He slammed the door shut and shoved her inside, the force of his actions threw her and she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Before she could get back to her feet he was right above her his hand wrapped tightly around her throat pushing her backwards until his face was inches from hers and she had her back pressed up against the wall.

'Do you have any idea how mad I am?' he yelled in her face.

She cried out trying to break away from him but he inched his face closer to hers so that she could feel his breath on her skin, 'you were my prize Pepper, and you disappointed me!'

'Stop!' She cried against him.

He grinned at her struggling form and squeezed his hand tighter around her throat, 'you and I could have had such a fun life together and instead you're hung up on him!'

'Get off me!' She tried to pull her arms out of his grip.

'Let me show you!' He pulled her up to her feet.

He pushed her against the wall and pressed his body against her, he ran his fingers against her neck and pulled her arms above her head, 'you're strong Pepper, but I'm stronger, do you really think I would have left you alone with such a powerful weapon?'

She looked at him in stunned confusion.

He grinned breathing against her ear, 'the virus isn't complete in you and in a few hours you'll be lying on the floor in a puddle of your own vomit,' he ran his hand down across her lower back and pulled her toward him, 'so calm down, and let me help you.' He hissed in her ear.

She finally caught her breath, 'I would rather die!'

He pulled back and looked her in the eyes; tears were streaming freely down her face, 'you disappoint me, Pepper.'

He pulled her forward by the throat and slammed her head into the wall behind her.

All she could remember was sliding down the wall gripping the back of her head as unconsciousness came over her.

* * *

'Rhodey we have a problem.' Tony muttered into a radio transmitter he pulled from one of the dead guards and modified to his own channels.

'What's up?' He answered breathlessly as he flew higher up dodging attacks from some of the feistier _super freaks_, as Tony put them.

Tony stood over the computers which were used to monitor the test subjects, he shook his head as he pulled up screen after screen of test results, 'the virus he gave her is unfinished, all of the other test subjects died within eight hours, by my count she's got thirty minutes left.'

'So we finish the virus, just like you finished yours?' Rhodey offered up shooting armed guards as they spilled out onto the streets.

Steve had taken post by an entry to the asylum and was effectively holding them off as they came through the doors.

Tony bowed his head, 'this one is different, this has already been modified and it's failing in all scenarios.'

'Tony, you can do this, your work surpasses these idiots by miles, she's counting on you.' Rhodey spoke breathlessly trying to give him as much support as possible.

'I know, I know, if I can work this out, maybe I can fix myself too…' he trailed off looking through the data intently, 'keep the coast clear I need to do this without distractions,' he ran around the lab collecting the data and supplies he needed, 'even one miscalculation, and this will kill her.'

'Got it, you're covered, just work.' Rhodey flew up and took the perimeter shooting any strays which evaded Steve.

Tony dropped all the files he needed at the desk and quickly ran over to the door and jammed a chair under it securing it in place.

'Ok, alright, let's see what you've done here.' He spoke aloud to himself while he looked over the notes and results as quickly as he could.

He looked over the countless test results for what seemed like hours and finally found the anomaly which was causing the subject deaths.

He glanced over at the clock; Pepper had less than twenty-five minutes.

He ran his hand through his hair, 'so many lives could have been spared, who the hell did this?'

'_Jarvis, I need your help, look at everything here and tell me what I'm missing.'_

'_Sir, the anomalies are indeed what you have identified, the virus you are infected with is similar but there are significant differences.'_

'_Right, I made modifications, will they fix her?'_

'_It is highly unlikely, only a small percentile of people can sustain the virus.'_

'_I know, I get that, you're going to have to help me buddy, my own mind is melting here.'_

'_The virus can be completely eradicated from Miss Potts' system if you combine the enzymes from your blood and the virus which you've modified.'_

'_Ok good, that's good news, I'm beginning extraction, keep me posted.'_

'_Of course sir, but what will happen to you?'_

'_I don't know buddy, but that's not important right now.'_

He rubbed his face and composed himself; he felt the weakening state of his body taking its toll. He looked around at the supplies and located a syringe, 'ok, here we go.' He winced at the needle going in and even more as he dragged the blood out.

As he sat there, waiting, a worrying thought crossed his mind, whoever saved Bessler had obviously given him what he needed, there were more than a small percentile of soldiers out there.

He looked over the notes again as his blood spilled into the small vial.

His breath caught in his throat as he spotted a messy scribble in unmistakable handwriting. Maya.

"**Tony Stark's blood is the key, three separate doses with his DNA will complete the DNA re sequencing in test subjects. Doses must be given within two hours of each other to eliminate the reversal of genome sequencing, failure to do so will cause death in subject."**

He snatched the note from the desk and shoved it into his pocket, once the vial was full he took it to the mixing machine and mixed his blood with a dose of the unfinished Extremis virus Bessler had been using.

What the hell was happening here, there was no way they had perfected it, not without him or his notes, then his mind came to a stop. His blood, when Bessler had him up on the roof, he must have taken a sample then.

'God damn it!' he yelled into the empty room.

He quickly seated himself on a swivel stool and took a deep breath, he pulled over a laptop and began typing away and keying in the modifications and the new information he had.

**"_Estimated time for completion is seven minutes." _**The automated voice announced.

Tony retrieved the radio receiver and called through to Rhodey, 'it's done, formulation has begun.'

'That's great news, why don't you sound happy?' Rhodey's concerned voice broke through.

Tony smiled weakly and felt his knees give way; _he_ was running out of time.

He gripped the edge of the counter to no avail; he felt his body go limp as he crashed into the ground taking everything from the counter down with him.

The loud crash of instruments falling on the other end make him panic, 'Tony?' He looked around at firing going on below, 'Tony I'm coming.'

'Steve hold them down, I have to get to Tony!' He yelled over the noise, once Steve took over he shot off into the sky.

Tony sat weakly against the desk, trying to hold his body up.

**"_Estimated time for completion is four minutes__."_**

Tony smiled at the announcement.

'_Sir, reactor power is at thirty seven per cent and the Extremis is at full power.'_

'_Of course it is, what are my options?'_

'_The serum can be configured for you; unfortunately you do not have enough time to synthesise.'_

'_And if I did?'_

'_If you did, there are simple modifications that can be made to this virus which will work with yours.'_

'_Will it cure me?'_

'_No, sir, you will still have what you wrote into it, but the problems will be eradicated.'_

'_Too bad there's no time to make it, huh?'_

'_I'm sorry sir.'_

He smiled grimly, 'nothing to be sorry for,' he whispered.

"_**Estimated time for completion is one minute."**_

He heard the familiar blasts of his repulsor technology just behind the doors. He clutched the edge of the counter and forced himself up; once the serum was completed he snatched the vial out of the mixer, a fresh syringe in a packet and stuffed it safely into his pocket.

He looked down at the remaining vial of his blood and quickly decided against his better judgement; he began mixing another vial only this time he keyed in the new modifications, he didn't want to die, not yet, not if he had a chance…

"_**Estimated time for completion is seven minutes."**_

He steadied himself on his feet and finally called on the suit and piece by piece the armour came to him and began assembling itself around his body.

The repulsors behind the door came closer and closer; he raised his hands and aimed for the door shooting through it and breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted Rhodey.

'You ok man?' Rhodey breathed.

Tony nodded, 'let's go, we're cutting it too close for my liking.'

'How long?' Rhodey asked leading the way.

'Fourteen minutes.' Tony took sharp breaths forcing back the discomfort and pushing himself forward.

The hallways were clear and Tony was thankful for that, he was down to less than thirty per cent power to the reactor.

'She's down there, get to her, I'll take care of these guys!' Rhodey yelled as a group of Extremis soldiers rounded the corner, 'go!'

Tony nodded, knowing he was in no position to take them on, he was silently thankful that Steve was here, fighting and helping and soon, back up would be here; he hastily made a run down the corridor, through to the lower level and found the lab where Pepper was being held. He stepped back and raised his palms readying himself to fire.

As soon as the dust had settled he spotted Pepper propped up against the back wall, unconscious.

Without a moment's hesitation he moved to her as fast as his suit would allow and dropped to his knees beside her, he pulled her forward laying her flat on the ground. He gently pulled her hair out of the way and retrieved the prepared vial as the armour opened up enough for him to reach into his pocket.

'_Jarvis, check her vitals, give me a full run down.'_

Tony prepared the syringe and waited patiently for Jarvis' results.

'_She is experiencing complete system failure; the virus has infected her cerebral cortex.'_

Tony's hands shook with rage; he steadied his hand as best as he could before he injected the liquid into her neck, he tossed the syringe aside and pulled her body against his.

'_Was I too late?'_

'_It is hard to tell without running further tests sir.'_

Tony nodded weakly, 'come on baby, you can't leave me.'

The woman in his arms remained still and unmoving despite his attempts to wake her, 'come on Pep, please, don't do this, I need you.' He looked over her through the HUD as the blue, veiny liquid weaved itself through her body. He held his breath as the HUD showed an improvement in her vital signs, he finally let out a shaky sigh, he took the receiver he found on the guard and placed it safely in one of Pepper's pockets.

If the past taught him anything it was to be prepared, he didn't know if she would need it or use it, but it didn't hurt having it there.

'_J, if she needs to call for help, if anything happens, you get in through this frequency, got it?'_

'_Yes, sir, I have accessed the frequency, it is on standby.'_

'Stark!' A sharp, cold voice interrupted him.

He clenched his fist and turned around still holding Pepper in his arms.

'How the hell are you alive?' Bessler asked curiously.

Tony raised his face plate and slowly edged away from Pepper, 'I could ask the same of you.'

Bessler smirked moving closer to Tony, 'you've got some leaks that need plugging, on that ship of yours.'

Tony had assumed that all along, now at least he knew for sure. How anyone had managed to bypass his security systems and sabotage their missions was still a mystery. And he'd be damned if he died before he solved it and found the leak.

But for now, he had Bessler and that was what he wanted, Tony grinned before dropping the face plate hitting Bessler with a repulsor blast before he could make a move.

Bessler quickly regained his footing and took his stance, 'I'm much stronger than you in every way now!'

Tony stammered backwards shielding Pepper, as the man before him began to glow from the inside; his face was on fire as his eyes turned a fierce black. He lunged forward and a burst of flames erupted from his mouth.

Tony dropped to his knees and raised his arm to shield himself.

'What the hell?' he breathed.

The internal suit warnings began to sound, '_sir, the integrity of the suit is compromised, the heat is short circuiting the reactor wall.'_

'_Yeah I noticed that, keep me posted.' _

His chest felt like it was about to burst, the heat was disorienting him and he was losing his bearings. He stammered forward and threw his arm in front of himself to keep from falling.

The flames continued to barrage him, 'time to take this elsewhere!' he yelled.

He raised his arms up and fired at Bessler, this time taking him by surprise momentarily which gave Tony a window of opportunity to fight back. He got to his feet and blasted him repeatedly until he was forced backwards out of the room.

'Rhodey!' he called out as several of Bessler's flame attacks hit him, 'get Pepper, this is getting a little hairy!'

He noticed Rhodey in the distance still struggling with the _Super Freaks,_ he had managed to take out three of them and was faced with another four.

'I'm on it!' He shouted back.

He took off into the air and hovered above them firing as much as could to get them off his tail. As he took off toward Pepper one of them clipped his leg and came crashing down into the ground.

'A little help!' He yelled through the coms.

Tony turned from his fire fight with Bessler and looked around hopelessly, he spotted Rhodey getting attacked by one of the soldiers who was about to slam his fist into Rhodey's chest.

'Hey!' He called, turning from Bessler he routed all the power to the RT and fired down the hall, the man on top of Rhodey was taken out as well as the three behind him.

'_Sir, power to reactor is at critical levels, down to sixteen per cent.'_

'Now you're out of power!' Bessler yelled as he slammed his fist into Tony's chest.

'_Chest plate has been severely damaged; Arc Reactor has been damaged, all systems failing.'_

Tony regained his balance and caught his breath.

He raised his arms again and fired, repeatedly hitting Bessler, who was not giving up. Electrical currents shot from his fingertips electrocuting Tony's suit and momentarily affecting his systems.

'Your arrogance astounds me Mr Stark.' He called as he readied himself and roared at Tony once again engulfing him in flames.

'_Sir, power loss is imminent; you cannot sustain any more attacks like this.'_

Tony grit his teeth and held his position, keeping him occupied would provide Rhodey enough time to get Pepper to safety and much to his relief, Steve appeared with impeccable timing allowing them to get to safety.

'_Sir, they have cleared the building.'_

And with those words Tony broke his position; he got to his feet through the agonising heat and lunged forward toward Bessler, 'now this ends,' he grinned.

Bessler smirked back at him firing the electrical impulses immobilising Tony's armour.

As Bessler edged closer and closer to Tony, panic took over, he was completely screwed, his armour was busted, his heart would probably stop beating any minute and the heat inside the suit was making him delusional. He kept hearing Pepper's voice, her cries and Rhodey's, _no, they're clear, snap out of it…_ He squeezed his eyes shut trying to shake himself back to reality.

Bessler intensified the electricity and the armour finally lost all power, he dropped to his knees clutching at his chest.

'Well, I must say,' Bessler spoke mockingly, 'it's been quite an eventful day, I have killed Iron Man, twice, killed his lady and successfully made myself God.'

Tony grit his teeth as involuntary tears escaped from his closed eyes.

For what seemed like an eternity the electricity pulsed through his veins causing his own body to start shutting down and the armour to unravel from his body. His own gargled cries echoed through his head as the electricity pulsed against his unarmoured body.

Suddenly the pain was gone, the electricity stopped and his heart was still beating.

'You're not a god, you're a maniac, and you didn't kill either of them!'

Tony forced his eyes open and looked up breathlessly; Bessler was on the ground on his knees screaming and clutching his head as Maya stood several feet away holding the EMP immobiliser.

'Tony, go!' She screamed over the hideous noise coming out of Bessler's mouth.

He looked at her dumfounded as his mind took several moments to catch up to the situation.

'Go!' She repeated.

When his mind finally did catch up, he nodded and scrambled to his feet.

'Take this, hurry!' She threw him the vial he had left in the mixer.

Tony glanced back quickly and nodded his thanks wordlessly as she replied with a tearful smile before turning back to Bessler and slamming the door shut.

He clutched the vial and ran as fast as he could as the building started to shake violently, the lights started to flicker as though an electrical interference was short-circuiting the whole building. Behind him he heard a thunderous roar as room after room started to explode and the flames sped after him.

He felt the pain in his chest constricting and stifling his ability to breath, his muscles ached as he pushed harder for the opening of the building, _just a little farther._

The final blast hit him with such force that he felt himself get catapulted into the air as the flames licked his back.

Consciousness began slipping away from him as the ground came closer and closer. Somewhere in the distance, between his own cries and the explosions beneath him the familiar sound of the War Machine repulsors came nearer and nearer until he felt himself crash.

He tried to regain his bearings and realised instantly that he hadn't crashed into the ground, but instead Rhodey had caught him.

Then he wished he hadn't.

The pain began to spread through his entire body as agony overtook his senses.

* * *

**So there was a lot going on there, I hope the action sequences and the switching between character and scenarios was ok!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you for all you awesome reviews!**

* * *

Rhodey spotted a clearing about half a mile from the hospital; he knew there would be a short window of safety before the Extremis soldiers found them. He couldn't risk them being found, not when Tony was in this condition.

He looked at the agony on Tony's face as he came closer to the ground, readying himself for landing.

Black dots danced across Tony's vision as the pain in his body sucked his breath out as it slowly became intolerable. He tried squeezing his eyes shut but even with that the pain ripped through his body putting him through pure torture, despite it, his mind snapped back to her.

'Pepper.' He breathed through clenched teeth.

'She's fine, she's going to be ok, oh God, Tony we need to get you to a hospital,' Rhodey spoke quickly, taking care to land smoothly and move him as little as possible.

'Tony!' He heard Steve's frantic voice calling to him.

He suddenly became much more aware of the increasing pain as the initial shock wore off, 'just a scratch,' he tried to reply but it came in barely a whisper until he conceded and a cry escaped his lips.

Rhodey laid him down on the cool grass carefully turning him on his side, 'Jesus, Tony this is bad.'

Tony moaned loudly into the grass, 'I can tell, god it hurts,' he hissed.

'I know, hang in there, I need to get something to compress it with,' Rhodey explained quickly leaving Tony writhing in pain.

'Hurry.' He pleaded biting down on his bottom lip drawing blood.

The sickening feeling growing in the pit of his stomach magnified as the taste of metal hit his lips and he found himself hurling, painfully and violently.

Steve pressed a hand to Tony's head while firmly holding his shoulder not allowing him to turn onto his back, 'it's going to be alright,' he whispered trying to comfort him, 'just listen to my voice.'

Tony tried to nod but his body disagreed and all he could do was whimper in pain as another violent bout of nausea hit him making him hurl again.

Steve held onto his shoulder and kept him as comfortable as he could.

'They have to hurry; we don't have a lot of time until those things find us.' Steve explained to Rhodey as soon as he came back.

Rhodey nodded crouching back down, 'hold still, this will hurt like hell, but I need to do it,' he explained while ensuring Steve had Tony down, he carefully applied a cold compress to Tony's back drawing a sharp cry from him, 'god I'm so sorry.'

He screamed in agony and tried to pull away, he realised then how badly he was hurt, 'stop, stop!' he yelled.

'He's going to go into shock.' Steve said firmly still gripping Tony's shoulder tightly.

Rhodey grit his teeth looking desperately to Steve who was still trying to hold Tony down, 'I'm sorry,' he tried to calm him down, 'I need to do this, just hold on for me ok, buddy.'

Tony shook his head against the ground and flinched every time Rhodey applied a new compress.

'Stop.' He cried, begging and pleading clutching at Steve's arm which was firmly placed on his shoulder.

Tears stung Rhodey's eyes as he looked back to Steve who was still holding Tony down with his hand and pressing his own face into his arm trying to supress the anguish which flitted across his features.

As the last compress was applied Tony started to shake slowly at first until his violent fits were almost impossible for Rhodey to control, 'Tony, listen to me, you need to hold on they're almost here.'

He closed his eyes tightly biting down on his lip bracing himself as his body lapsed into shock.

* * *

A gargled moan which turned into an agonising scream woke Pepper up.

She looked around as confusion set in; she was no longer strapped to a bed nor was she feeling the nagging rage threatening to erupt at any minute. Aside from the ridiculous headache, she felt relatively normal.

Another scream jolted her mind again, she wasn't inside anymore and she wasn't surrounded by other test subjects so the mystery of whom the screams belonged to started to nag at her.

An angry, almost pleading voice drew her into the right direction, 'come on, damn you I'm not letting you die!'

She shook her head trying to bring herself back to the present, smoke and dust, she smelt something burning then there was also grass, cool soft grass beneath her; she sat up and looked around for the source of the shouting.

Finally, in the distance she spotted Rhodey and the unmistakable garb of Captain America crouching over somebody.

'Don't you dare die!' Rhodey yelled while she noticed Steve pressing his hand to his face.

Pepper eased herself to her feet and carefully padded over to him.

'Breathe you selfish son of a bitch!' Rhodey yelled again.

Pepper's breath hitched as she came closer, 'Rhodey, Steve?'

Rhodey looked back at her as she caught him by surprise, 'stay back!' he yelled at her, grabbing Steve by the arm and pushing him toward her.

Steve immediately understanding got to his feet and rushed over to Pepper. He did the best job he could at hiding the anguish in his eyes.

'Rhodey what's going on?' She asked looking from Steve then back at Rhodey as panic began to creep into her again.

'I mean it, Pep, get back.' His strained voice broke as he spoke.

She shook her head and slowly proceeded toward the man on the ground ignoring Steve's attempts to hold her back.

'Pepper, don't.' He said weakly, placing himself between her and Tony.

Being convinced he wouldn't let her pass she craned her neck to look around him, as she caught sight of the scene before her, she gasped loudly and covered her mouth.

From what she could see between the carefully placed compresses, the man's back was completely burnt with parts of fabric melted into his skin in some places and in others, the skin was completely gone.

'Oh god, what happened?' She cried fearing to move closer.

'An explosion in the hospital, he didn't clear the blast in time.' Steve explained knowing that Pepper had no idea who the man was and he wanted to keep it that way as long as possible.

'What's happening to him?' Pepper asked Rhodey fearfully as she watched the man convulsing on the ground.

'He's in shock, the burns are extremely severe and if I don't bring his heart rate down he'll die.' Rhodey tried to keep his voice as level as possible.

Pepper shook her head still covering her mouth, 'maybe dying wouldn't be such a bad thing,' she whispered.

Rhodey dropped his head at her words while still trying to hold Tony from slipping away completely.

Steve placed his hand on Pepper's shoulder.

Tony's body slowly stopped shaking and a low moan escaped his lips, Rhodey shook him gently, 'no, no, no, no, you're not getting out of it this easily.'

Pepper cleared her throat, 'it's ok,' she said quietly.

Rhodey shook his head, 'no, damn you!' He yelled at the still body.

She lowered her gaze to the ground, 'Rhodey we have to go,' she looked to Steve who nodded in acknowledgement.

Rhodey shook his head in reply looking down at his hands covered in his best friend's blood, 'no.'

Pepper looked back to the unfortunate body before her and Rhodey who sat silently sobbing over this stranger.

She didn't understand what he was going through and she didn't want to know.

'Did you know him?' She asked quietly still having to crane her neck around Steve in order to speak with Rhodey.

He supressed a sad laugh, 'yeah, you can say that.'

She didn't know, and he wondered whether leaving it that way was better.

Pepper sighed loudly turning to Steve and leaning against him for support as exhaustion crept up on her.

Before he could register what was happening he quickly looked to her in shock as she tensed in his arms.

She stammered backwards before he could stop her, 'Pepper stop, wait.'

Rhodey scrambled to his feet and moved toward them, 'Pep, wait,' he pleaded holding his hands.

She looked at him with wide eyes as she silently continued backing away from them.

'He's wearing a Stark Industries shirt,' she gasped, trying to catch her breath, 'who is he Rhodey?'

He moved closer to her, 'you need to calm down and breathe.'

'Who is he?' She screamed again backing away from his advances.

Rhodey stopped moving and looked at her wordlessly.

Steve couldn't help in this situation as sadness spread across his features.

'Tony?' She cried looking back and forth between the two men.

Rhodey didn't say anything instead he only looked up at her.

'Oh my god,' she dropped to her knees clutching at her chest trying to catch her breath.

He rushed over to her holding his hands out to steady her, 'Pepper, breathe.'

She pushed him away struggling to get away from his hold, 'don't touch me!'

Rhodey dropped to his knees in front of her, 'I'm so sorry.'

'He did this?' She breathed, looking up at him, 'he cured me?'

Rhodey nodded, 'he didn't stop until he got you out.'

'Oh god.' She sobbed into her hands still trying to gather her breath.

Steve stood back as tears sprung to his eyes, this personal moment was so painful to see he found it difficult to say the least and he found himself turning from them wiping a tear which managed to escape.

'Colonel Rhodes.' Jarvis' voice sounded as all three of them looked around in confusion.

Pepper looked around trying to locate the source of sound, finally patting herself down, she felt a hard device in her pocket reaching in she retrieved a receiver.

Rhodey quickly took it from her and pressed the button, 'Jarvis?'

'Sir, Mr Stark had prepared a vial for his own consumption, I believe Miss Hanson gave it to him before the explosion.' Jarvis explained.

Rhodey's breath caught as he remembered back to his conversation with Tony…

'…_if I can work this out, maybe I can fix myself too…'_

Rhodey jumped to his feet and ran back to Tony, as gently as he could he reached around feeling through his pockets until he finally retrieved the vial. He breathed out a heavy sigh of relief before looking back to Pepper.

'We need a syringe; as soon as the medivac gets here, get one!' He called out pointing to the sky as he noticed the jet nearing.

Pepper nodded getting to her feet as she spotted the lights in the distance.

She looked back at Rhodey every so often as he sat cradling Tony's head while rubbing his own face impatiently as Steve stood beside him offering both men support.

Steve then noticed how this small family was so close. They would do everything for each other and more importantly they worked, they rushed to the aid of one another before they were even asked, it was a mutual respect and something he never expected to see in Tony.

All his selfless acts and brash decisions were done because he was a hero, in the truest form of the word.

He let out a grateful sigh as the familiar sound of the jet neared and landed with a flurry of commotion, dust and debris flew into the air making it hard to see, to keep the perimeter. He knew that the commotion would draw attention to them.

Thankfully Natasha, Clint and Bruce jumped out first and spread out to take care of the situation on the ground.

Pepper, Steve and Rhodey watched as they hunted down the last of Bessler's Extremis soldiers.

The paramedics soon followed them and Pepper ran to the first man out, before he could speak she had spat out her demands for the syringe and instructions on administering the cure. She found herself immediately falling back into her usual role.

She stood back and watched as the few selected, S.H.I.E.L.D. approved medics rushed to Tony's side and administered the cure and minutes later he was wrapped in fire blankets and rushed into the waiting jet.

Pepper was required to be checked out by the medics as well and she only agreed should they allow her and Steve to fly with Tony. No one argued.

Rhodey got back into his armour and promised to meet them at the hospital.

Natasha ensured them that the situation would be taken care of and they would meet them as soon as they were done.

* * *

Steve sat beside Pepper as she sat beside Tony resting her head in her hands listening to the shallow, weak breaths coming from him. As little as it was, it gave her hope that he would pull through.

One of the paramedics turned his body on his side to alleviate the pressure on his back.

'Why did you do this?' She whispered to him, ignoring the medics who continued to monitor him.

She ran her hands through her hair and let out a sob, 'I can't lose you twice Tony.'

Steve gently wrapped his arm around her.

Her eyes watered as she looked down at the ground despondently as her tears fell freely and splashed on her bare feet below, 'I know you're in pain, and if you can't come back to me, it's ok…I love you and I will understand.'

She felt her voice quaking with regret at what she was saying, but she couldn't be, wouldn't be selfish.

This wasn't about her.

Steve swallowed hard and turned away at this display of emotion from a woman he was so used to seeing poised, stoic and strong. Her shattered appearance crushed him and he tightened his grip around her shoulders, much to his relief she didn't argue but simply leaned in and accepted his support.

Injuries like this didn't heal, and they certainly weren't something that one gets used to. He knew enough about Tony to know this wasn't something he would want to survive only to be in agony for the rest of his life.

'Oh god, I don't want to do this without you, but if you need to go…' she cried into her hands.

Steve pulled her closer.

At least twenty minutes passed in silence until one of the medics gently touched her shoulder, the woman was young and beautiful and her eyes were full of understanding, 'we're here, once we check him in we'll give you some privacy.'

She nodded and stepped out of the jet as soon as it landed and they immediately lowered the stretcher and took him away.

She trailed mindlessly behind them still leaning on Steve for support, watching the world in whir of unintelligible color.

The medics shouted their instructions over the sound of the howling wind and engines of the jet, she watched as they pushed him away and out of sight.

Rhodey landed a few yards away from the hospital and spotted Pepper wrapped in Steve's arms.

He rushed over to them, 'where is he?'

'They took him inside,' Steve answered when Pepper didn't, her body shook in his arms and he tightened his hold on her, 'he's going to be ok, you'll see,' he whispered to her as he stroked her hair.

'I don't think so, not this time.' She murmured.

Rhodey sighed looking out, beyond the dark skies, 'he will.'

'He won't want to, not like this.' She added tearfully.

Rhodey cleared his throat and looked to Steve for help, 'these are amazing doctors, there are things they can do.'

Steve nodded, 'they're not going to give up on him,' he said as confidently as he could, 'he'll pull through and everything will be alright.'

Pepper shook her head, 'no, not this time, he won't live a life where he's…suffering every day, and I'm not sure I want him to either,' she pulled back and looked at Rhodey sideways as her tears filled to the brim and silently spilled over, 'is that selfish?'

Rhodey placed a hand on her shoulder, 'no, it's not selfish at all.'

Steve looked down at his feet, god, how did this happen.

They reached his room and stopped just outside the door. They watched nurses coming and going, chatting amongst themselves and clearing out bandages every so often.

But _she_ refused to go in, her heart was conflicted and the only thoughts she had were negative.

Rhodey had removed the armour, and left to go and get some coffee, Pepper remained with her eyes transfixed on the door, fearful of what she would be faced with.

* * *

Several hours had passed since their arrival and Pepper didn't even remember getting here and all she felt was the onset of a serious migraine. She dropped into the cold, plastic chair and wrapped her arms around stomach trying to hold herself together. She made a mental note for herself to find the paramedic who had given her the sweater and given back some of the dignity she lost.

'He was asking for you.' An older nurse said gently as she came out of his room giving Steve a courteous nod.

Pepper looked at her, 'he's awake?'

The woman smiled softly, 'he has been for the past twenty minutes, chit chatting away, ever the gentleman.'

Pepper looked at her suspiciously.

'I can tell him you're not ready?' The nurse offered closing the door.

'No, no it's alright,' she sat up and smiled courteously, 'thank you.'

'That's alright dear,' the nurse patted her arm.

After a few moments of silent deliberation she got to her feet and turned to Steve, 'thank you for sitting with me.'

'My pleasure,' he nodded, 'I'll be here.'

'Thank you,' she said quietly and turned back to the door and pushed it open, silently she padded into the room.

Her eyes fell on the man who occupied the bed, his eyes were closed and a peaceful look adorned his face which was perfectly framed by his dark hair.

She quietly took a seat beside his bed and took one of his hands into hers.

His eyes slowly blinked open meeting Pepper's concerned look, 'hey,' he whispered.

She edged closer to him with a smile,' hey,' she cautiously reached out and cupped his cheek.

She closed her eyes and exhaled a weak breath of relief.

The feel of his skin and his existence under her fingertips was enchanting.

'You're ok.' Tony breathed against her hand.

'You saved me.' She replied leaning forward to plant a kiss on his forehead.

'I'm so sorry I put you in harm's way.' He looked at her languidly.

Pepper shook her head still cupping his cheek.

'I missed you.' He whispered with his usual grin.

Pepper smiled through tears, 'I thought I lost you.'

'I'm not that easy to get rid of.' He smiled closing his eyes with a slight grimace flashed across his face.

Pepper gently took his hand into hers as concern shot through her, 'are you ok?'

He grit his teeth as the pain from earlier reared its ugly head again.

'Should I get a nurse?' She got to her feet only to be pulled back by Tony.

'No, no it's alright.' He managed breathlessly.

He forced his eyes open only to be met by Pepper's concerned look.

'Don't look at me like that, Pep.' He looked away from her.

'I'll get you something to drink,' she pulled her hand from his.

'No, don't,' he tried to reach for her hand to pull her back, 'please.'

'It's just over there,' she gestured to the back wall, 'I'll be right back.'

Tony shook his head, 'don't, just, just stay here ok.'

Pepper raked her fingers through his hair looking down at his fearful expression, 'why, what are you afraid of?'

'I just …_you_ don't need to see… ' he closed his eyes taking a deep breath, '_I_ don't want you to see this.' He admitted quietly.

Pepper sat down with a sigh, 'Tony,' she squeezed his hand, 'it's me, there's nothing that you can't show me, you _know_ that.'

He looked at her with a weak smile, 'I know, but this is something you don't need to see, not any more than you've already had to.'

'Tony, you don't have to do this.' She leaned in with a gentle smile and planted a kiss on his lips.

He closed his eyes and relished in the moment, her lips on his were perfect and there was nothing in the world that would ever make him tire of this.

He reached out to find her hand pulling her closer.

Once Pepper pulled back and sat down again she saw the distant look in his eyes and sadness overwhelmed her again, 'we're going to be ok, I know right now it doesn't seem like that, but we will, I won't let you go.'

He replied with a silent nod.

They both sat in silence as Pepper occasionally wiped a stray tear while Tony chewed his lip, occasionally letting out a heavy sigh.

'In answer to what you said before, I would never leave you like that.' He broke the silence.

Pepper looked at him with a sad smile, 'you heard me?'

He nodded, 'I did, and I appreciate the sentiment but I wouldn't ever, leave you,' he closed his eyes with a heavy sigh, 'under any circumstances.'

Pepper squeezed his hand, 'we'll get through this.'

'I love you.' Tony whispered.

'I love you too Tony.' She leaned in and kissed his cheek, 'get some sleep,' she added noticing the dreariness taking over as he struggled more and more to keep his eyes open.

As soon as his eyes were closed she smiled weakly and kissed the back of his hand as her silent tears splashed on their intertwined hands.

* * *

**So there we go, another one!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you for your feedback for the previous chapter, this one is much longer than usual, mainly because a lot is going on personally in the upcoming weeks so I may not be able to write much for a while. So hope you enjoy this, and remember, if you can let me know what you think and if there's anything that you'd like to see, or if there's something you don't want to see! Either or. Let me know!**

* * *

Pepper gently closed the door and took a moment to collect herself; a shaky sigh escaped her lips as she leaned heavily against the door.

'How's he doing?' Rhodey asked quietly, conscious not to startle her.

He handed her a cup of coffee and sat down.

'He's a mess.' She replied not turning to face him, 'where's Steve?'

'He's gone to debrief with the others.'

Pepper nodded and looked down at her feet.

Rhodey's audible sigh was a crushing reminder of just how serious the situation was.

'He's talking?' He asked hopefully breaking the silence.

'He's talking, a bit.' She confirmed.

'How are _you_ feeling?' He asked softly.

She nodded before turning to face him, 'I'm fine.'

'Good.' He whispered wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer.

'How did he survive the blast at the house?' She heard herself asking curiously.

'The Mark forty-two armour.' He said simply.

She nodded, 'right, the one I berated him about.'

'Don't beat yourself up about that.' Rhodey offered sincerely.

Pepper felt the guilt creeping up on her again, she didn't deserve him.

Everything he ever did was to keep her safe; his obsession, his 'hobby' saved his life and inadvertently hers. She looked down at her blood stained hands and bit back the tears as an influx of information flooded through her mind.

'They infected me with this virus, a modified form of the Extremis,' she explained looking at Rhodey, 'it increases and magnifies a person's natural responses, so I assumed, and you know what I felt?' she looked at him.

He shook his head allowing her to continue.

'I felt rage and anger toward them, for Tony and every emotion I had ever supressed suddenly became the only thing driving me to survive.'

She looked back to her hands picking away at the dry skin around her usually immaculate nails, 'and at that moment I didn't care what happened to me, I only cared about what they did to him, and I realised, that's how he must have felt every day after coming back from Afghanistan, after seeing what his weapons were being used for.'

Rhodey nodded, acknowledging Pepper's observation.

'He became Iron Man to protect and save lives, and _I _wanted him to stop because, well, because I'm an idiot.' She hung her shoulders.

'Hey, no, Pepper, look at me,' Rhodey spoke up, 'you're not an idiot,' he paused to find the right words, 'Tony has never been an easy person to understand, you know that better than anyone, and more than that, he's not one to _express_ his feelings and explain his reasoning.'

'That's no excuse; maybe that would have been acceptable five years ago, not now.' She shook her head, 'he's been suffering alone, since New York, did you know that?' She looked to him.

Rhodey shook his head with a frown, 'no.'

'I didn't either, I knew he didn't sleep, he would go downstairs and tinker and shrug it off as boredom, I found out one night when _I_ couldn't sleep just how bad the nightmares were,' she explained, 'he was completely terrified, he must have called on the suit as a defence mechanism, I don't know, but I left and slept downstairs and I was mad at him, I didn't talk to him at all, the whole day.'

Rhodey squeezed her shoulder.

'That was the last night we spent together, and now this, I don't know how I can make this better,' she confessed.

Rhodey sat silently, not knowing what he could say to make Pepper realise there was nothing she could do that would make Tony love her any less, time would heal this, he knew that but it didn't make him feel any better.

So instead, he opted for being there for her, a silent shoulder to lean on and speak to, someone who would listen and offer the support he knew they would both need when things got bad with Tony.

* * *

'How are you feeling Mr Stark?'

A cheery voice woke him up drawing a groan from him.

'That good, huh?' She repeated with a chuckle.

'Yep,' he moaned, 'what time is it?'

'It is…just after three in the afternoon.' She said sweetly before adjusting the blinds slightly and allowing some light into the room.

He squeezed his eyes shut trying to block out the sun, 'too bright,' he muttered.

'Oh, I'm sorry, here,' he heard her adjusting them again, 'better?'

'Yes.' He managed.

He was conscious of the woman walking behind him and it made him incredibly uneasy, he deliberated whether he should risk the pain to turn around or swallow the uneasiness and deal with it.

Before he made his decision she appeared before him with a wide, cheery smile. She looked like she was in her mid-thirties with an overly successful and happy life, he felt like he should resent her, but her infectious smile made his own mood slightly lighter.

Her black hair was tied back in a neat pony tail with bright green eyes and pink lips highlighting her pale face.

He thought back to his youth when he met a crazy, rebellious girl who ran around with the drummers of bands, why she had fallen in with him he never knew, but she made him smile when no one else could after his parents died.

Her warm smile reminded him strongly of this woman, only her name tag read, Mary, knowing it wasn't her brought about a whole new curiosity.

Who was she and why was she working here? How did she earn clearance to work for S.H.I.E.L.D and more importantly to be in charge of him?

'It's time to change the dressings, will that be alright?' She asked with a warm smile.

Tony nodded dubiously.

She smiled in acknowledgement and picked up the new dressings from the cart and held them up to him, 'I'm using these, to give you a better chance at healing on your own, _and_ Director Fury explained that you don't like anything done without your consent, so, do you consent?'

Tony couldn't help but crack a smile, 'Fury cares about what I think?' He asked incredulously.

She laughed softly and shook her head, 'I think he cares that you don't cause a scene and scare the nurses away.'

Tony rolled his eyes, feeling much better about his nurse, 'yeah, that sounds right.'

'Now, you're lucky that _I'm_ your nurse,' she explained as she replaced the bandages on the cart and pushed it to the other side behind Tony, 'Helen, who I'm sure you'll meet at some stage is _completely _crazy about you, so you'd probably have bandages covered in hearts and kisses if she were here.'

Tony laughed out aloud this time and made a mental note to thank this woman when he left here, and also Fury, despite their sketchy history, the man had made an effort to set things right.

'So the first part is uncomfortable, first I'll remove the dressing and clean the wound ok?' She spoke in the same cheery tone.

Tony nodded.

'Once that's done, I'll apply the new dressings and take some bloods.'

He heard the clanking of instruments behind his head and the same uneasy feeling came over him.

'Try and relax, I know this is difficult, but I'm here to look after you, I promise.' She said gently.

He expelled the breath he was holding and closed his eyes with a nod.

'I'm removing the dressing, we do this without pain killers because we'd like to gauge how much, if any, nerve damage has been caused, but if it becomes too much let me know and I'll give you something for the pain.' She explained.

Tony nodded again.

The first touch made him flinch as her cold hand touched his arm gently, 'so tell me about Iron Man, how do you come up with ideas for new armours?'

He held his breath as the excruciating burn ripped through his back and along his spine, he closed his eyes and thought about her question, anything to keep his mind off it, 'I think of what I need to do to make myself better, stronger…'he paused as another surge of pain ripped through him, 'faster, anything to protect the people I need to protect.'

'And your lady?' Mary asked curiously as she gently peeled the corner of the first bandage.

'Especially her.' He agreed.

'Wow, say that to Helen, she would just die, a hero _and_ a romantic.' She added lightly.

Tony smiled through the pain, 'and don't forget gorgeous.'

Mary laughed, 'and definitely not shy,' she added.

He felt his whole body tense as another bandage came off, and probably a sheath of skin too.

'You doing ok?' She asked calmly.

Tony nodded weakly, 'what about you, how'd you come to S.H.I.E.L.D?' She managed painfully.

She peeled away another bandage drawing a hiss from Tony, she squeezed his shoulder sympathetically before moving onto the next one, 'well, when I was sixteen I decided that I wanted to be a doctor, a lot happened in my life and that plan fell through, but I managed to get decent grades and I got into nursing,' she peeled another bandage from his lower back, again squeezing his shoulder gently, 'so I started working at the Mercy hospital, everything was looking up until, well until some things happened which changed my life, then I was approached by a recruitment officer for S.H.I.E.L.D. and offered a job.'

Tony swallowed hard and nodded, 'they only recruit the best,' he said lightly.

Mary chuckled, 'yes they do,' she removed another bandage, 'they managed to sign you, I'm intrigued that you said yes.'

Tony flinched again as another was removed, 'that's it, last one,' he heard her removing her gloves and retrieving new ones from the dispenser, 'so what made you say yes, you're a solo kinda guy from what I've seen in the media?' she asked.

'Needed a change.' He offered swallowing back the bile which was building up slowly.

'Well it suits you,' she squeezed his shoulder again, 'I'm going to clean the wound now, this part won't be fun, but as before, gets too much, let me know and I'll get something for the pain.'

He nodded trying to prepare himself as much as he could.

'Ok, ready?' She asked firmly.

'Yes.' He breathed.

The clanking of instruments behind him brought on an intense bout of nausea as memories of Yinsen operating on him while he was awake ripped through his mind. He had a man's hands in his chest, willing his heart to live pushing him to survive, surely that gave him the right to quit being a hero for at least a moment and be human, because he highly doubted he could bare the pain for much longer.

'Nearly done, still with me?' She asked gently.

He tried to nod; he didn't know whether the attempt sufficed because he heard her remove the gloves and then all he could feel were her cool hands on his face.

'Tony?'

He closed his eyes against the memories which spilled into his consciousness before he could think fast enough to stop them; he hated the weakness and being at the mercy of his own body.

He slammed his jaw shut as the pain ripped through him again.

'Tony, open…eyes, you… do it, focus…me.'

Her voice sounded miles away and he struggled to make out the words as his heart beat pounded and pounded in his head, he thought his skull was going to crack.

'Come on, Tony, focus.'

He finally managed to hold onto the words and make them out.

'Open your eyes, stay with me.' She cupped his cheek willing him to look up at her, 'good, ok, you're still with me.' She smiled as he cracked his eyes open.

'I've given you something for the pain,' she smiled before returning to the cart behind him, 'it's ok, I'm impressed you made it this long without.'

He tried to speak but only incoherent gargles came out.

'Try to relax; the morphine will kick in soon ok.' She spoke gently, 'at least we know how much damage has been caused, you can feel everything which is fantastic, and although right now, I'm sure it doesn't seem that way to you.'

Tony managed a weak nod before she continued cleaning the wounds.

The burn was still there, but the stabbing pain was subsiding as the minutes went on, unfortunately the nausea was more prominent than before.

'How do you feel?' She asked quietly still bathing his back.

He attempted a reply to no avail swallowing hard, hopping that the bile in the back of his throat wouldn't make an appearance.

'It's completely normal don't worry, is the nausea bad?' She asked.

He managed a nod.

'It'll wear off soon, and by the time it does this will be finished and you can get some rest.' She explained, 'I'm going to re dress the wounds now, ok?'

He nodded and she began to apply the new dressings.

'So, I couldn't help but overhear you, yesterday,' she spoke while applying the new dressings, 'you're afraid to let Miss Potts help you,' she paused, 'I know this is none of my business and I know that you could have me fired before I could blink, but I also know that you're nothing like what the media tries to depict and that's why I have to say this to you.'

After receiving a subtle nod from Tony she proceeded.

'My husband, Mark, was a fire fighter he was a lot like you, proud and strong, and very much a man who lived to serve and protect, one day he was caught in a really bad blaze, he stayed on to help the last few tenants from the apartment block, what none of them knew was that beneath the building there was a large gas vat, before anyone could warn them, it blew.' She paused again to make sure Tony was still listening.

'Six of the men on his team died and he was so badly burned that they didn't know whether he could be saved but I refused to give up on him so I sat by his side day in and day out watching him suffer, like you are, and every time I tried to help him he pushed me away, I didn't know what to do, it caused so many fights between us, his pride and ego drove me to the edge of insanity.' She applied another bandage.

'One day he was having a good day, so we spoke and laughed and everything was just like before, and then he flipped, he refused to let me see him, he was ashamed and his pride came between us, he barred me from entering his room, or even checking up on him, a few days later infection set in and he died.'

Tony closed his eyes as he listened to the pain filled story which came out with such truth and ferocity; he felt his own heart shattering.

'The only reason I'm telling you this is because I can see myself in Miss Potts, what you're going through is horrible, but believe me, she's suffering as well,' she applied the final bandage and tossed her gloves into the bin and moved the cart around to the front.

She smiled sweetly at him, 'you're a brilliant person, Mr Stark, don't make the same mistakes Mark did.'

Tony nodded earnestly; he _definitely_ needed to thank this woman later.

She squeezed his arm, and nodded with a smile and pulled the blanket over him, 'get some rest.'

As she closed the door behind her Tony closed his eyes and expelled a shaky sigh, he knew what was waiting for him and he knew that the recovery was going to be agonising and he was afraid, terrified, he didn't remember the last time he was truly fearful of the future but was this fear? Was he scared?

Even at gunpoint, drowning in trough of contaminated water and his convictions, he had hope, what he was faced with now was a brick wall thousands of feet high with no absolution guiding him, no warm light beckoning no chance of normalcy.

Yes, he was terrified.

* * *

Mary stepped out of the room unsure of the repercussions from her momentary lapse of professionalism; she saw something and felt something worth fighting for in her patient. She knew better, don't get involved, don't let it become personal, but this was different, _he _was different.

The billionaire was away from the bulbs and the media frenzy, he was alone, and what she saw was pure and raw, she was definitely right; the media did him no justice. She suddenly felt an overwhelming sadness as Pepper came to her mind, the woman was completely broken, and she empathised with her.

She was sure that injuries were just another part of the job being Iron Man, but this was something that pulled them both by the throat and dragged them under. This was a suffering burden which would pull them and bind them and contort them into whatever it wanted until one of them broke.

She swallowed hard as the aforementioned woman stepped into the hall.

'Mary.' Pepper called out walking over to her.

She swiftly pulled her façade back into place and flashed a smile at her, 'Miss Potts.'

'Pepper, please,' she smiled, 'how is he?'

Mary encouraged her to sit.

'All the dressings have been changed; we managed to get through most of it without having to administer pain killers.' She explained, 'but I think the worst of it hit him toward the end, he lost consciousness for a few minutes but once the morphine kicked in we finished the rest without any problems.'

Pepper nodded solemnly, 'will this get better?'

Mary smiled warmly, 'with you by his side, it will.'

Pepper smiled, 'thank you, so much.'

'You're very welcome,' she shook her hand before standing up, 'one more thing, it will take him time, just be patient with him.'

Pepper nodded, 'thank you.' She smiled.

Mary nodded before leaving Pepper to her own thoughts.

So much emotion raged through her veins, anger and sadness followed by desperation. She knew how bad the burns were and the fact that he managed to go through what he did without sedation made her respect him even more.

She guessed that having a hole drilled into your chest while being awake and forced to carry a magnet in your chest changed a person.

* * *

Rhodey sat with his elbows resting on his knees and a solemn look upon his face; he dropped his gaze to the floor finding interest in the intricate patterns in the linoleum before Pepper's voice broke him from his thoughts.

'I spoke with the nurse,' Pepper said softly before taking a seat beside him.

He looked up at her, 'and?'

Pepper shrugged, sighing heavily, 'she said that he lost consciousness before the pain killers kicked in.'

Rhodey nodded looking back down to the floor, 'did she say anything about the injuries?'

'She didn't, but she didn't have to, I could see it on her face.' Pepper replied quietly, 'I'm somewhat of an expert in reading people,' she tried to smile.

'Have you been back to see him?' Rhodey asked, not raising his head.

'No, he, he needs time I think, you know him, the pride…' she trailed off dropping her head into her hands.

Rhodey put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer, her body shook with sobs as he held her, 'he'll come around, I promise, like you said, just give him a little time.'

'It's so bad, the burns, god I don't know how he'll pull through this.' She sobbed.

'I know, I didn't get to him in time, I should have been there.' He sighed, guilt riddled him when he lost him in Afghanistan and then again when he stole his suit and betrayed him by giving it to Hammer, he found out later that his best friend was dying the whole time and tried to cover it up.

He cursed himself for not noticing something was so wrong and not pushing him to open up, yet despite everything he put Tony through, he came to fight by his side with no hard feelings.

'Have you gone to see him?' Pepper turned the question on him this time.

He shook his head, 'I was waiting for you to see him first.'

Pepper cleared her throat, 'it would do him good to have the company.'

Rhodey nodded, 'I'll see if he's up.'

'I'll be here.' She added quietly.

Rhodey pushed the door open quietly and stepped inside, he was slightly relieved that Tony was asleep. He took a seat beside him and picked up a magazine from a pile which sat neatly on the bedside table.

He flicked through the pages, celebrity gossip and everyday useless information, and of course columns about Tony and Pepper and the direction of Stark Industries.

He sighed at the ill-conceived negativity and some downright ridiculous content which adorned the glossy pages.

'Oh man, Tony.' He expelled a shaky breath tossing the magazine aside, he dropped his head into his hand looking down at the ground, 'there are a million things I want to say and after everything, _I'm_ _sorry_ still doesn't cut it.'

He rubbed his head, 'I'm sorry this happened to you and I'm sorry about Afghanistan and Hammer and the War Machine, you were always a friend to me before a professional and I should have extended you the same courtesy,' he sighed loudly.

Tony stirred still trying to fight off the drowsiness but he managed cleared his throat, 'this wasn't you fault, neither was Afghanistan, but Hammer and the suit, that's all you.' He managed with a smirk.

'So he's awake.' Rhodey smiled back, happy to have at least an ounce of normalcy.

'He is.' Tony agreed, 'he also wants a drink, please.' He added.

Rhodey nodded with a smile, 'sure, one sec.'

He got up and made his way to the side table and poured a glass for Tony, he paused to gather his thoughts; he glanced at Tony's bandaged back before shaking his head disbelievingly.

Upon returning to the chair he handed Tony the glass of water, 'I know there's a lot to take in and it's probably the last thing you want to talk about, but why didn't the virus cure you?'

Tony tried his best attempts at a shrug, 'maybe I got it wrong.'

'I don't think so, you got Pepper's right, she's fine, and you're alive, but it didn't fix this.' He looked to him for an answer.

'I don't know, I honestly don't, I'm alive, I don't have the agonising pain in my head every waking moment, I can still access the Extremis, I guess, maybe this was a price I finally had to pay for everything else.' He said quietly.

'How do you feel?' Rhodey had nothing else.

'Better than yesterday, I'm not in agony which is good.' He said with a smile.

Rhodey looked at him with a sideways glance, 'Pepper is really worried about you.'

Tony nodded, 'I know, she shouldn't be, I'm ok.'

'You should tell her that, you know, you've been pushing her away.' He explained.

Tony sighed, 'I know, I just need a little time, this situation is a little difficult for me to digest.'

'Of course it is, Tony I know, but please don't push Pepper away, she's devastated that she can't help you,' Rhodey looked at him pleadingly, 'let her help you, she needs it.'

'All she ever does is look after me, fuss after me, worry, she doesn't _need _that, she doesn't deserve that.' Tony's voice began to waiver.

Rhodey dropped his gaze, he knew how much Tony had on his plate and how much he'd been through, hell, he'd been through more than most humans could even comprehend, yet he still took it in his stride, took on the media and dazzled the world with his smile, protected Pepper the company and his friends.

But his façade was finally shaken and he watched Tony Stark's wall begin to crumble before him.

'Tony, don't do this to yourself.' He tried to stop the downward spiral which he saw coming like a freight train.

'You know it's true,' he looked up at Rhodey, 'she loves me, but she doesn't deserve the pain and the constant worrying, and I can't change that, I am what I am, she deserves better.'

'She loves you and she would do anything for you,' Rhodey leaned in closer pinching the bridge of his nose, 'you're a better person than you give yourself credit for, you have selflessly given your life for the world without a second thought, you're a hero, Tony, and you're both lucky to have each other.'

Tony looked up at him with a half-smile, 'I love her so much, it drives me crazy thinking that if I lost her, I couldn't, I don't know, do anything.'

'You haven't lost her, so don't push her away now.' He said gently.

So much remained unsaid, Tony never shared too much, but when he did it was raw and pure, and sometimes difficult to hear.

Rhodey sat by, ready to be that friend who listened and offered the best advice he could. Despite all the comfort he provided he still saw the black, heavy shadows of self-doubt which hung over Tony's head.

Up until now, he thought he had seen every shade of Tony Stark but what he saw in his face now broke him.

A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.

'Mind if I come in?' Mary peered in with her usual cheery smile.

Rhodey nodded with a smile, 'sure, we were just catching up on latest goss.' Rhodey pointed to the magazine on the bedside table.

Tony nodded with a serious face, 'I mean who wouldn't want to know what's happening in the most prominent lives in the world.'

Mary pushed her cart through the door and laughed, 'well word is that the Beckham's have given up on their move to Australia.'

Tony nodded, 'see Rhodey, prominent people with serious problems, how could you let me sleep through this news.'

'You're the one who chose to nap, buddy, not me.' He raised his hands in defence.

Mary laughed again, 'well, ladies, I'll let you finish your intellectual discussion later; right now we should do this.'

Rhodey grinned and stood up, 'I'm going to grab something to eat, I'll catch up with you later.'

'Sure, I'll be here.' Tony replied sarcastically.

Mary closed the door as soon as Rhodey was gone and she turned to Tony with a warm smile, 'ready?'

Tony swallowed hard, not really, but what choice did he have, this needed to be done and the sooner he came to terms with it, the better.

'This time I'd like to sit you up, ok, I think it'll be a welcome change to your body _and _it'll be easier for me.' She smirked.

'Ok, whatever you say boss.' He smiled back.

She held her hand out and Tony grabbed it, 'just pull yourself up, let your muscles do most of the work.'

Tony grit his teeth struggling more than he cared to admit.

'You're ok, just a little more.' She encouraged.

Once he was upright, he expelled the nervous breath he was holding.

Mary patted his arm gently, 'I'll get you to lean forward for me,' she pulled forward the high back chair from the corner of the room and turned it so that the back was closest to him, 'just lean forward ok.'

'Got it,' Tony nodded, 'thanks, for before.' He added as Mary disappeared behind him and pressed the button to lower the bed.

'You're welcome, like I said, things are definitely going to be difficult but together you can at least have someone by your side.' She smiled.

Tony heard the familiar snap of the rubber gloves as she pushed the cart around to her side.

He felt her hand rest on his shoulder, 'wait,' he breathed.

'What's wrong?' She asked quickly.

'I want Pepper, here, to be with me, I guess she'll need to know this anyway, right, for when I go home?' He explained feeling unsure of himself.

Mary leaned over his shoulder and smiled, 'sure, Tony, I'll call her in.'

'Thank you.' He nodded his appreciation.

Mary threw her gloves in the bin and walked over the door and peered out through the crack, 'Pepper, can we have you in here for a few minutes?'

Tony leaned forward resting most of his weight on the chair in front of him, he felt his heart rate increasing as the nerves grew increasingly more difficult to contain.

He didn't know why he was nervous; this was Pepper, his Pepper.

He closed his eyes expelling a heavy breath.

'Tony.' Her melodic voice did what he nothing else could; just like that he was no longer anxious and his muscles relaxed.

'Hey.' He smiled looking up at the beautiful woman who stood in front of him.

Her beautiful eyes greeted him, full of love and warmth and most importantly, understanding.

'I wanted you here, by my side, like you said.' He offered a weak smile.

'That's what I'm here for.' She closed the door behind her.

Mary walked back to sit behind him, 'I'm going to begin removing the dressings, then Pepper and I will clean the wound and redress.'

Pepper took Tony's hand into hers and nodded with a nervous glance at Tony.

He looked at her with as much of a comforting smile as he could manage.

'Come,' he whispered to her pulling her down to sit on the chair he was leaning on.

Pepper obliged without letting his hand out of hers.

Mary retrieved new gloves and prepared the bandages, 'same as last time, if gets too much, let me know and we'll get the morphine happening, ok?'

Tony nodded not breaking eye contact with Pepper.

Again he felt her hand on his shoulder before the first, sharp hit of pain seared through his body.

'I was thinking, that we should move back to New York, and maybe I'd like to share that name on the tower.' Pepper said sweetly, still holding on to Tony's hand.

He looked deep into her eyes searching for the meaning in her words as he gripped her hand tighter as another wave of pain pulsed through his body.

Pepper only squeezed back, 'I don't need the twelve per cent, or my name on the lease, I'd like to share _your_ name.'

Tony couldn't help but smile, 'are you sure?'

Pepper nodded as tears welled in her eyes, 'I'm sure, more sure than I've ever been of anything.'

Tony winced causing Pepper to gasp subtly, 'I'm here,' she closed her eyes and leaned forward so their foreheads were touching, 'always,' she added.

Tony nodded against her, 'I love you.' He whispered.

'I love you too,' she whispered back, 'promise me we'll get through this.'

Tony squeezed her hand tighter in his, 'I promise,' he managed through grit teeth.

Mary removed the final bandage, 'Pepper, this is the part I would like to show you, so when you both go home you can do this.'

Pepper nodded before standing up quickly and wiping the stray tears which had escaped.

Tony dropped his head against his arm and squeezed the chair tightly.

He heard another pair of gloves being retrieved from the dispenser, 'we need to clean the wound before we can redress it,' Mary spoke quietly still maintaining her cheery tone.

Tony closed his eyes, he felt naked and vulnerable and ashamed.

He hated that Pepper had to see this and he hated that he had to put her through it.

'This is how we clean it, it's important to use this solution with _warm_ water, the heat calms the wound and helps with minimalizing the pain,' Mary explained as Pepper stood silently by, 'make sure you always do this with as much care as possible before redressing.'

Tony squeezed the chair conscious that his nails were digging into his palm, he hissed loudly as the two women began cleaning.

This was the most agony he had been in to date and he clenched his jaw shut afraid that if he didn't he would scream or cry or both.

He pushed his head harder against his arm tensing all the muscles in his back, probably making it worse.

'I'm sorry Tony,' Pepper whispered squeezed his shoulder.

More and more pain wrapped itself around his heart and he felt as though his oesophagus was closing in on him.

'It's ok.' He managed breathlessly.

'Good work Pepper, now we're going to finish up with this and start redressing.' Mary explained.

'How are you holding up Tony?' She asked firmly.

Tony took a deep breath and expelled a shaky sigh, 'not good,' he answered truthfully.

'How bad is the pain, one being not so bad and ten being really bad.' Mary asked as she pressed the warm cloth to his back again.

Tony gripped the chair tighter digging his nails into his palm drawing blood, 'ten,' he closed his eyes and groaned, 'eleven!'

'Alright, I'm getting you something for the pain, hang in there.' Mary said quickly.

Tony leaned his forehead against his arm chewing his bottom lip waiting for the comfort of the sedative to kick in.

'Tony, hang in there, can you hear me?' Pepper leaned into him.

Tony wanted to nod but that simple gesture eluded him, instead a short, painful pinch announced the long desired arrival of morphine and he felt himself falling steadily into a deep, warm embrace of comfort.

Pepper's hands on his cheek were the last thing he remembered before the darkness welcomed him with open arms.

* * *

**So there we go, another one down. And like I mentioned earlier there's a lot going on for me in the coming weeks, so in all honesty I'm not sure when I'll be able to update. **

**I promise it'll be as soon as possible and when it does finally happen it will hopefully be really amazing and full of life and action and Pepperony and other amazing delicious things that we all love to read about :)**

**And as always, thank you for reading, and I will see you soon, Excelsior!**


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